ANCIENT NEAR AND MIDDLE EAST
CYLINDER SEAL: PREPARATION FOR A BANQUET
CYLINDER SEAL: PREPARATION FOR A BANQUET
MESOPOTAMIA / ANATOLIA / ARABIA
Belonged to a private English collection
Object certified authentic and sold with an expert certificate. Satisfied or your money back.
Object :
Nº 1747
Dimensions :
Height: 3.8 cm (1.4") - Diam: 1.4 cm (0.5")
Provenance :
This seal belonged to a private English collection
Cylinder seal with a figurative scene representing the preparation of drinks and dishes. An upper and a lower line border the scene. A seated figure in a long tunic holds a cup and drinks. Across from him, a short servant holds a big fan. There is a vase between the two figures. Above the servant, we can see utensils for passing the wine and a recipient to hold it. To the left of the scene, a headless four-legged animal is hanging from a rod. There are also other elements more difficult to identify. This is an extremely rare scene of the preparation of a meal with the seal’s owner.
The seal was an object of great importance in the societies linked to Mesopotamia. It may have had many uses, either as a signature stamped on administrative documents, as a piece of identity for common individuals or as a ritual offering. Worn as a talisman, it could be part of a tiara or became a pendant attached to a string thanks to a central hole. Around the middle of the 2nd millennium, the use of the dynastic seal began to spread, to such an extent that using the seal of his predecessor was, for a king, equivalent to absorbing the former’s “virtues”.
€ 2000 - £ 1737.9 - $ 2165.8 - C$ 2921.8
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