Western Asiatic Black Stone Cylinder Seal with Presentation Scene

Ellipsoid banded agate gemstone with intaglio standing bull, crescent above the shoulders; supplied with a museum-quality impression. 1.25 grams, 17 mm



UK private collection before 2000. On the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.

Formed as two opposed bovines on a single narrow rectangular base; placed head-to-head with prominent horns locked; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 57 grams total, 55 mm wide including stand



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

With three standing figures; accompanied by 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, Colourless and Whitish Agate, 22.5 x 9 mm. The design shows two standing bull-men holding between them a pole-standard with a kind of fleur-de-lis on top. There is a cuneiform inscription in Babylonian language: sa-ki-in (May god be merciful) / na4kisib an-ni (to the one equipped) / ilum li-re-en-s[u] (with this seal. This is a Cassite-period Babylonian seal, c. 1400-1100 B.C. It is a rare design for the period and the inscription may be unique. The seal is chipped at the edges, and is joined from two pieces with no loss of surface, and is in an attractive stone.' 2.8 grams, 22 mm



Academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s. From a collection acquired from various auction houses in the UK. From the estate of Mr R.W., a private Wiltshire, UK, collector; thence by descent. Accompanied by an original typed and signed scholarly note by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993.