Neo Babylonian Banded Chalcedony Stamp Seal

CIRCA 6TH CENTURY B.C.

2 5/8 in. (10.4 grams, 67 mm).

Representing a worship scene with ritual animal offering; a priest with long beard and round headgear standing in front of an altar surmounted by a staff topped by a crescent; a sacrificial animal (goat?) on the altar; a later trilobate bronze pendant fastened through a modern loop to the seal.

Provenance

From a private family collection formed since the early 19th century, thence by descent.
Property of a New Zealand legal professional.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12331-223714.

Literature

See similar scenes in Niederreiter, Z., Catalogue of the cylinder seals in the Royal Museums of Art and History, I, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Periods (circa 1000-500 B.C.), Budapest, 2020, nos.68,70 (with variants).

Footnotes

The worshipper performing the sacrifice is a priest, wearing a brimmed, rounded headdress under which his shoulder-length hair emerges. In front of him, the staff (symbol of Nabû) is surmounted by the crescent moon.

CONDITION

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LOT 1170