1986.565: Stamp Seal: Walking Lion

Identification and Creation

Object Number

1986.565

Title

Stamp Seal: Walking Lion

Classification

Seals

Work Type

seal

Date

400-300 BCE

Period

Classical period, Late

Culture

Achaemenid

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/289139

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Gray chalcedony with one brown end

Technique

Intaglio

Dimensions

1.7 x 2.2 x 1.3 cm (11/16 x 7/8 x 1/2 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Damon Mezzacappa, gift; to the Harvard Art Museum, 1986.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Damon Mezzacappa

Accession Year

1986

Object Number

1986.565

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Contact

am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Permissions

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Descriptions

Description

This stamp seal features an image of a walking lion. The lion’s body is rendered by three large drilled holes, with the addition of grooves for legs, and smaller drilled holes for the head and paws. There is a palm branch in the field above the lion’s back. A semi-circular chip is missing from one end of the seal.

A handful of other seals, all with images of animals, exhibit this same carving technique (1). They are generally thought to be from the eastern Mediterranean and of fourth-century BCE date on stylistic grounds.

NOTE

1. J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze Age to Late Classical (London, 1970) 322.

Verification Level