Mesopotamian / Cylinder seal and modern impression: hunting scene / 2250-2150 B.C.

Mesopotamian
Cylinder seal and modern impression: hunting scene
2250-2150 B.C.
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Creator Nationality: Asian; Middle Eastern; Mesopotamian
Creator Name-CRT: Mesopotamian
Title: Cylinder seal and modern impression: hunting scene
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: -225
Creation End Date: -215
Creation Date: 2250-2150 B.C.
Object Type: Sculpture
Materials and Techniques: Chert
Dimensions: H. 1.1 in. (2.8 cm)
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 41.160.192
Credit Line: Bequest of W. Gedney Beatty, 1941
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Context:

While carved stones had been used to stamp impressions on clay from as early as the seventh millennium B.C., the invention in the fourth millennium B.C. of carved cylinders that could be rolled over clay allowed the development of complex seal designs. These cylinder seals served as both a kind of amulet and as a mark of ownership or identification. Seals were either impressed on clay masses that were used to close jars, doors, and baskets, or they were rolled onto inscribed clay tablets that recorded information about commercial or legal transactions. They often were made of precious stones; both the material itself and the carved design were thought to have protective properties. Cylinder seals are important to the study of ancient Near Eastern art because many examples survive from every period; they serve as a visual chronicle of changes in style and iconography.

This seal, depicting a man hunting an ibex in a mountain forest, is an early attempt to represent a landscape in Mesopotamian art. It was made during the Akkadian period (2350-2150 B.C.), during which the iconographic repertory of the seal engraver expanded to include a variety of mythological and narrative subjects that had been unknown. The owner of the seal was Balu-ili, a high court official whose title was Cupbearer.

AMICA ID: MMA_.41.160.192
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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