Cylinder Seal with a Standing Figure, Trees, and Animals

Although Kassite seals are often characterized by many registers of hymns, this Kassite seal bears no text. It does include a cross, a common motif on Kassite seals that might have been an independent Kassite iconographic development. This seal features an ostrich fleeing from a stylized horse-monster that has a long horn and feathered tail. There is also a stylized palm tree and a robed figure. The standing worshipper has a Kassite-style rounded hat and stands before a sacred tree.

Cylinder seals are cylindrical objects carved in reverse (intaglio) in order to leave raised impressions when rolled into clay. Seals were generally used to mark ownership, and they could act as official identifiers, like a signature, for individuals and institutions. A seal’s owner rolled impressions in wet clay to secure property such as baskets, letters, jars, and even rooms and buildings. This clay sealing prevented tampering because it had to be broken in order to access a safeguarded item. Cylinder seals were often made of durable material, usually stone, and most were drilled lengthwise so they could be strung and worn. A seal’s material and the images inscribed on the seal itself could be protective. The artistry and design might be appreciated and considered decorative as well. Cylinder seals were produced in the Near East beginning in the fourth millennium BCE and date to every period through the end of the first millennium BCE.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Henry Walters, Baltimore, [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.