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An off-white intaglio limestone object in the shape of a cylinder. It is engraved with lines that show the form of a four-legged animal along the bottom and a seated stick figure along the top. There are more carved lines that wrap around the edges.

An off-white intaglio limestone object in the shape of a cylinder with flat ends. It stands upright on a dark grey background. It is engraved with lines that show the form of a four-legged animal facing the viewer’s left along the bottom. There is also a seated stick figure along the top that is facing the viewer’s right. The figure’s stick arms are bent up in front of them. There are more carved lines that wrap around the edges.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1993.182
Title
Cylinder Seal: Banquet and Animals
Classification
Seals
Work Type
seal
Date
c. 2600-2334 BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia
Period
Early Dynastic III period
Culture
Mesopotamian
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/287609

Location

Location
Level 3, Room 3440, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Middle Eastern Art in the Service of Kings
View this object's location on our interactive map

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Limestone
Technique
Intaglio
Dimensions
actual: 3.1 x 2.9 cm (1 1/4 x 1 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Marcopoli collection, Aleppo, (by 1984). McLendon collection, (by 1993), sold; [through Christie's, New York, June 14, 1993, lot 108], sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1993.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Marian H. Phinney Fund
Accession Year
1993
Object Number
1993.182
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
Upper register: a pair of seated figures raising cups; the other pair drinking through tubes.
Lower register: calf, goat and another quadruped walking toward bush.

Publication History

  • Susanne Ebbinghaus, ed., Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings, exh. cat. (Cambridge, MA, 2018), pp. 51-52, fig. 2.6

Exhibition History

  • Impressions of Mesopotamia: Seals from the Ancient Near East, Arthur M. Sackler Museum
  • 32Q: 3440 Middle East, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050

Subjects and Contexts

  • Google Art Project

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu