Cylinder Seal with Milking Scene

2600 BC - 2350 BC
Shell
Khafajah
2.9 cm x 1.1 cm diam.
A17069

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Cylinder Seal with Milking Scene

This cylinder seal was made from a piece of shell. It would have been rolled onto clay to produce a unique impression, or "signature," that was used either to indicate ownership or to safeguard personal possessions. The upper register of the seal depicts a long-haired, kilted figure milking a goat, as well as a bald figure shaking a large suspended jar containing milk used to make butter. The lower register depicts two goats and a ram, each drawn in front of a stalk or plant.

Collected by

Henri Frankfort, Field Director of the Iraq Expedition
Excavated by The Oriental Institute 1934-1935

Multimedia

Cylinder Seals
What are cylinder seals and how were they used by the ancient Mesopotamians?

Suggested Readings

Collon, Dominique. Interpreting the Past: Near Eastern Seals. University of California Press. 1990.

Hunter, Erica. First Civilizations: Cultural Atlas for Young People. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

Roaf, Michael. Cultural Atlas of Mesopotamia and the Ancient Near East. New York: Facts on File, 1990.

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