Galerie Golconda

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 2^nd 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”.