between 800 B.C. and 600 B.C.
black serpentine ;
Morgan Seal 645
Description
1 cylinder seal : black serpentine ; 19.5 x 9 mm
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"In contrast to 640 and 641, in which the two figures of the king or two genii flank the tree in kneeling posture, the motifs of 642-645 depict the usual type of Assyrian worshiper, who stands upright. It seems unlikely that 642 and 643, in each of which there is a palmette executed as carefully as in 640, are earlier than 644 and 645, which present a more cursory rendering of the tree."--Porada, CANES, p. 76
Summary
Tree flanked by two worshipers, each grasping one of two streams falling from winged sun disk above tree -- Seven globes in sky -- Terminal: star over tasseled spade.
Catalog link
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department