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Details
LOT 0494
Phoenician Inscribed Bronze Scaraboid Seal
LATE 1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1/2 in. (3.5 grams, 13 mm).
With plain body and three lines of characters including a scarab to the underside.
Provenance
Ex London, UK, gentleman, 1990.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
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Phoenician scarabs with winged lions were often used as guardian figures, much like Mesopotamian lamassu or Egyptian sphinxes. On amulets and seals, they likely served as apotropaic (evil-averting) symbols. In Phoenician and Persian art, hybrid creatures like winged lions reflect a cosmopolitan visual language, blending Egyptian, Assyrian, and Achaemenid motifs. They could symbolise imperial power or transcultural authority. In some cases, winged lions are linked to deities or divine guardianship, especially when shown flanking sacred symbols like trees, thrones, or sun discs.
