LOT 0224

Akkadian Shell Cylinder Seal with Heroes

2350-2200 B.C.

1 1/4 in. (27 grams, 33 mm).

Representing a god with horned helmet, half animal and half man, standing on the left and holding a staff, near him the hero Gilgamesh killing Humbaba, and the hero Enkindu killing the celestial bull, followed by a mythological divinity depicted as half animal and half human; supplied with a museum-quality impression.

Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12577-232112.
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.

Cf. similar seal in Weber, O., Der Alte Orient, II volumes, Leipzig, 1920, no.15, 206.

King Sargon of Akkad created political unity when he seized control of Mesopotamia, and carvings on seals from the time demonstrate his success by portraying the power the Akkadian gods had to legitimize both their domain and their rulers. Religious scenes on cylinder seals detail the spiritual beliefs and practices of the time. The deeply intertwined relationship between religion and state power in Akkad is also present in the decorations of some cylinder seals. Here the hero Gilgamesh, embodying the strength of royal power, kills the monster Humbaba, as the king of Akkad kills his enemies.