CIRCA 1850-1700 B.C.

Details

AN OLD BABYLONIAN HAEMATITE CYLINDER SEAL
CIRCA 1850-1700 B.C.
Showing a Lamma goddess wearing horned headdress, her hands raised in supplication, facing her a king holding a mace, between them a recumbent goat with two crooks above, a solar disc and lunar crescent in the field, a three line cuneiform inscription identifies the seal owner as "Tab-sar-ili, son of Alishunu, servant of the god Amurru"
1 1/8 in. (3 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired during the 1970s-1980s.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries.

Lot Essay

The crook was a symbol of Amurru, god of the Amorites. Cf. D. Collon, First impressions: cylinder seals in the Ancient Near East, British Museum, London, 1987, pp. 45-47, no. 166 (BM102517) and pp. 169-170, no. 796 (BM89259) for similar.

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