4. Cuneiform tablet: administrative account of barley distribution with cylinder seal
impression of a male figure, hunting dogs, and boars
ca. 3100–2900 B.C.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
5. A Leaping Stag in a Landscape
Mesopotamia, Middle Assyrian period (ca. 13th century B.C.)
The Morgan Library
6. Cylinder Seal Impression on a Clay Tablet
Hero Triumphant, Darius Inscription
Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago
7. Cylinder seal: seated figure approached by a goddess leading a worshiper
Ur III (ca. 2028–2004 B.C.)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
8. Pattern of Two Running Goats, One Above the Other
Mesopotamia, Early Dynastic I period (ca. 2900–2750 B.C.)
The Morgan Library
10. Bilalama Seal and Modern Impression
Excavated at Tell Asmar in 1931 by the
Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago
11. Bilalama Seal and Ancient Impression
Ur III ((ca. 2028–2004 B.C.)
Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago
Editor's Notes
Where; Middle East
Super-abbreviated timeline; cylinder seals developed along with cuneiform writing; in use for 3,000 years
Cuneiform- wedge-shaped; accounting; administrative purposes; authenticated; like a signature; sealed on bottom
First to scale- averaging at an inch; carved; image in reverse rolled onto damp surface
Another sealed tablet; each seal was unique; different motifs
God/ worshipper interaction
Older seal later recarved
seals are collected by many different types of museums; mix the boundaries of archaeology and art museum; Oriental institute; teaching- emphasis on excavation; collects from excavations; context; more information
Excavated in 1931; tell asmar; seated figure
Tablet matching; very rare; discarded or buried
Two cylinder seals on displayIn conclusion; many cylinder seals; unique but same function; unfamiliar culture; complex iconography; and on top of it very small
Monumental statue; vs cylinder seal; although Lamassu not to scale; etc; go back to previous slide
