With figures and fire altar, restrung pair of red stone beads, old handwritten label '1649'; accompanied by a copy of an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Fawn Fossil Shell, 35 x 20.5 mm. On the right sits a snake god: human body above the waist, curling snake below, with one hand extended. Facing him stands a god in long robe with bottom fringe, also extending one hand. Between them is a fire altar. Behind each god is a sideboard for holding food and drink ready to consume. There is a lunar crescent in the sky. This is an Akkadian seal from Mesopotamia or Western Iran, c. 2300-2200 B.C. The snake god is not yet identified from texts, but is a fascinating item of Akkadian mythology.'; accompanied by a museum-quality impression. [No Reserve]

PROVENANCE:
Armand Trampitsch, Glyptique Archéologie, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 13-14 May 1992, no.23 [Part].

Accompanied by a copy of a scholarly note, typed and signed by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert in 1992.
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.