Ancient cylinder seals and more
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Round clay bulla or seal impression utilized for identifying a package or document with a seal impression of rearing horses in a modified contest scene. This is from Western Anatolia, a region famous for horse breeding in the Bronze Age and dates from 1400-1200 BC. It measures 60 mm across.
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Baked clay cuneiform tablet from the Old Babylonian period, 2000-1595 BC, acknowledging receipt of an ewe, with the impression of a cylinder seal with two clear rows of cuneiform text along one edge. This is a real-life example of a cylinder seal being used in a practical manner to certify an important transaction. This tablet measures 35 mm tall, 37 mm wide and 10 mm thick.
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Sumerian baked clay votive sheep figure from the Third Millennium BC, perhaps created as a child’s toy or an offering to a patron god from someone not able to afford a real sheep as it is too large and fragile to be worn as an amulet. Animal figures of all sorts were very popular in Sumerian art and culture and most of those that have survived were carved from hard stone, making this little and fragile terra cotta figure, measuring 3 inches long and 2 ½ inches high, somewhat rare.
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Sumerian clay foundation cone from the reign of Gudaea, Kingdom of Lagash, circa 2250 BC. This baked clay nail-shaped foundation cone was created to be included in the foundation of the great temple of E-Ninnu at Lagash. This 5.5-inch-long object was inserted into the walls of the temple to both insure the protection of the gods and record the patronage of the king. The cuneiform inscription on this cone has been translated to read: Gudaea, the Mighty Warrior of Enlil, Ruler of Lagash, acted splendidly and built and restored for Ningirsu the great temple of E-Ninnu, for his shining Imdugud bird. Gudaea of Lagash, modern day Telloh located in southeastern Iraq, was one of the best-known rulers of the 23rd Century BC in Mesopotamia. He was a patron of architecture and art and numerous statues of him, depicting what is interpreted to be his actual likeness, still exist in the British Museum and the Louvre. Ningirsu was the most prominent of the gods of Lagash and it was to him that Gudaea dedicated the great temple of E-Ninnu of “House of Fifty.” Gudaea was said to have had a dream in which Ningirsu appeared before him, commanding him to begin the rebuilding of the great temple. In the dream, the god appeared not in human form but in the form if the lion-headed Imdugud bird, which Gudaea therefore honors in the dedication inscription.
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The 13 lines of cuneiform text have been translated to read:
This brick, which measures 8 1⁄2 inches in length and was once surrounded with a larger border since removed.
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A very large two-sided cuneiform tablet from the Old Babylonian period, 1894 – 1595 BC. This undeciphered baked tablet, likely a list of names, had been re-assembled from its fragments and has almost completely restored.
This tablet is one example of extensive documents, produced in the hundreds of thousands if not in the millions, in Ancient Mesopotamia, thus preserving a vital window into the real-life business, religious activities and governance from that long- ago era. This large tablet measures 6 ½ inches tall by 3 ¾ inches wide.
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Old Babylonian administrative record in cuneiform on a small baked clay tablet with a writing on one side. It measures 2 inches (50 mm) tall by ¾ inch (21mm) across.
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Neo-Sumerian plaque with a seated, long- haired, bearded man, god or king, with one arm extended 22nd-21st Centuries BC, likely from Ur. This votive plaque had both decorative and religious meaning and was meant for display, rather than given as an offering with no intention of retrieval. This terra cotta plaque measures 3 ½ long and 2 ¼ at widest point.
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Large Neo-Sumerian and highly detailed plaque of a standing bearded ruler, deity or both, a god-king, facing forward, with a very long and carefully braded and sculpted beard, with one arm folded over the waist. This figure also features an elaborate gown and head dress. This clay figure dates from 22nd or 21st Century BC and measures 5½ long and 2 ½ wide at widest part.
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Small, Neo-Sumerian votive presentation scene with a seated ruler or deity facing left with both arm raised as if to receive a gift or offering. A standing worshiper or supplicant faces the seated figure. This small plaque dates from the 22nd or 21st Century BC and measures 2 ¾ wide and 2 ½ long.
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Neo-Sumerian standing figure of a god or king with elaborately braided beard and long gown, with hands folded across the chest. This figure, perhaps from the 22nd or 21st Century BC, and measures 4.75 long and 1.5 at the arms.
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Neo-Sumerian votive plaque featuring a presentation scene with a seated deity facing left, before an altar beneath three celestial symbols including two clear crescents, with a worshiper, much smaller that the deity, facing right before the altar. This is from Ur and dates from the 22nd to the 21st century BC and measures 2 5/8 at the top and is 3 3/8th long.
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Large Neo-Sumerian pottery fragment with a standing bearded man in a gown with distinct descending folds facing right holding a horn. This fragment measures 3 3/8th inches long and 3 1/8th at the widest point.
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Neo-Sumerian votive pottery plaque with a standing worshiper holding an offering with the extended right hand. This plaque has three holes, presumable to allow for it being fixed to another surface and measures 4 ½ inches long 2 3/4th inches at its widest point.
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Sculpted Sumerian mask plaque, 2600-2200 BC, of the legendary demon Humbaba, surnamed the Terrible. This monstrous giant of immemorial age was raised by Utu, the Sun and was the guardian of the Cedar Forest, where the gods lived, by the will of the god Enlil, who “assigned Humbaba as a terror to human beings. Gilgamesh defeated this great enemy.” Humbaba is first mentioned in Tablet II of the Epic of Gilgamesh: after Gilgamesh and Enkidu become friends following their initial fight, they set out on an adventure to the Cedar Forest beyond the seventh mountain range, to slay Humbaba: “Enkidu,” Gilgamesh vows, “since a man cannot pass beyond the final end of life, I want to set off into the mountains, to establish my renown there.” Gilgamesh tricks the monster into giving away his seven “radiances” by offering his sisters as wife and concubine. When Humbaba’s guard is down, Gilgamesh punches him and captures the monster. Defeated, Humbaba appeals to a receptive Gilgamesh for mercy, but Enkidu convinces Gilgamesh to slay Humbaba. This piece measures 3 inches long and 2 inches across at the widest point.