Details

LOT 0257

Achaemenid Chalcedony Stamp Seal

CIRCA 530 B.C.

1 1/4 in. (18.4 grams, 32 mm).

Ellipsoid in plan and plano-convex in section, reverse with invocation scene: on a baseline a kilted figure advancing towards an altar with flames, holding a cup and a plate; altar flanked by two crouching winged bulls with human heads; perching eagle to right with amphora; above a winged sun-disc and rectangular object; supplied with a museum-quality impression.

Provenance

From the Fadel family collection, London, UK, 1970s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12769-237265.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Literature

Cf. a seal with similar characters in Median clothes offering sacrifices to a fire altar in Abdullaev, K., ‘Symbols associated with temples and altars in the Middle East and Iran’ in Parthica, culture del Mondo Antico, Roma, 2019, pp.11-42, fig.14, p.20.

Footnotes

The seal shows elements belonging to the period of the Achaemenid dynasty: the winged solar disc, symbol of the supreme god, Ormadz; the fire altar in the centre, a typically Zoroastrian element. The costume of the offerant is also decidedly Persian, with a short tunic at the knees and trousers of the saravara type.