King grasping two winged bulls

between 550 B.C. and 450 B.C.
carnelian
27 x 12 mm
Morgan Seal 822
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"Seals 819-825 show the motif most frequently encountered in Achaemenian cylinders--that of a king holding at bay or subduing two monsters or lions, rendered in a symmetrical composition recalling the Assyrian cylinders 753-763. The king wears the billowy Persian garments in all of these scenes, except for the occurrence of the fringed Assyrian mantle in 822. As has been suggested in regard to 816, this mantle may indicate that 822 is an earlier seal."--Porada, CANES, p. 103

Summary: 

King grasping two winged bulls -- Terminal: stand supporting vase with plant; bird flying toward latter.

Period: 
Classification: 
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