Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Attendants with towels and fly whisks facing king

between 1000 B.C. and 700 B.C.
black serpentine ;
Morgan Seal 676
Description
1 cylinder seal : black serpentine ; 14 mm diameter
Provenance
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes
"In 676 the figure seated before a stand is clearly characterized as a king by his headgear. Perhaps this indicates that in those seals in which the seated personage does not wear a royal miter, he is nevertheless to be regarded as a king. Assyrian texts indicate that a meal such as appears in these scenes could be a royal ritual."--Porada, CANES, p. 81
Lower part of cylinder broken off.
Summary
Attendant with towel, second attendant with fly whisk and towel, both facing king with cup who is seated before table spread with cloth; behind king, third attendant with fly whisk -- Crescent and star in sky -- Terminal: gate or building.
Classification
Place
Southern Mesopotamia.
Department