Harvard Art Museums > 1986.555: Scaraboid Stamp Seal: Galloping Quadruped Seals Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Scaraboid Stamp Seal: Galloping Quadruped , 1986.555,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/289136. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1986.555 Title Scaraboid Stamp Seal: Galloping Quadruped Classification Seals Work Type seal Date 6th-4th century BCE Period Archaic period to Classical Culture Cypriot Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/289136 Physical Descriptions Medium Clear gray chalcedony Technique Intaglio Dimensions 1.4 x 1.8 x 0.7 cm (9/16 x 11/16 x 1/4 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Damon Mezzacappa, gift; to the Sackler Museum, 1986. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Damon Mezzacappa Accession Year 1986 Object Number 1986.555 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This scaraboid stamp seal features an image of an unidentifiable animal. Its body is crescent shaped, and this appears to include an upraised head and extended tail. All of its four legs are bent, suggesting a gallop. Its head is long and narrow, and droops at the end. Two protrusions rise from the top of it; they may be ears or horns. A linear device with multiple irregular protrusions is in the field above the animal; it may represent a fish. The mode of carving makes it difficult to attribute this seal to any specific period or location. The linear and angular style bears some resemblance to some of Cypro-Archaic period scaraboid seals excavated on Cyprus (1). A similar fish (if it is indeed a fish) appears on an unprovenanced stamp seal in St. Petersburg, attributed on stylistic grounds to the late fourth century BCE (2). NOTES 1. A. T. Reyes, The Stamp-Seals of Ancient Cyprus (Oxford, 2001) nos. 316, 325. 2. J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze Age to Late Classical (London, 1970) no. 979. Publication History G. Max Bernheimer, "Catalog of the Greek Engraved Gems in the Collection of the Harvard University Art Museums" (1988), p. 75-77, no. 26 Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or 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
