Cylinder Seal with Cuneiform Inscription

1600 BC - 1150 BC
Quartz
Boghazköy
3.8 cm x 1.4 cm diam.
A6739

Oriental Institute Museum

Artifact Description

Cylinder Seal with Cuneiform Inscription

This cylinder seal was made from a piece of quartz. 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. Seals such as this one tend to bear lengthy inscriptions that are often elaborate prayers. These inscriptions leave little space for the design, which often consists of only one or two elongated figures. In this case, a person with upraised hand is shown standing with an animal that is possibly a bird.

Collected by

Dr. Von der Osten
Donated 1929

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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