Attendant with fly whisk and towel facing king(?)

between 883 B.C. and 824 B.C.
black serpentine
38 x 13 mm
Morgan Seal 666
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"The scenes of 665-672 each comprise only two figures, those of a king and an attendant. The latter is swaying a fan or fly whisk over a vessel set in a stand (665-671)... Since the treatment of the subject is similar in all these seals, the chevron borders of 665 and 666 may indicate a ninth-century dating for these cylinders, as in the case of 610 above. An even more definite criterion for dating, however, is provided by the spiked shield on the attendant's back in 666, 667, and 672. This shield is of a type found only on the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II and on the bronze gates made in the time of his son, Shalmaneser III."--Porada, CANES, p. 80

Summary: 

Attendant with fly whisk and towel facing king(?), who holds cup and bow; between them, stand with vessel -- Crescent in sky -- Terminal: star above plant -- Chevron borders.

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Classification: 
Department: