1993.193: Cylinder Seal: Figures Flanking a Tree
SealsAn off-white intaglio sintered quartz object in the shape of a cylinder. It is standing upright on a grey background. It is engraved with lines that form the shape of an animal with large antlers in the center. The animal’s body points to the viewer’s left and it faces the viewer’s right. Along the top edge are carved lines that make a large swirling, circular pattern. Along the bottom edge are carved lines that make a geometric band of straight lines pointing outward from a long line.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1993.193
- Title
- Cylinder Seal: Figures Flanking a Tree
- Other Titles
- Alternate Title: Cylinder Seal: Two Figures flank Tree; Two Recumbent Stags with Spiral Design above and Floral Design below
- Classification
- Seals
- Work Type
- seal
- Date
- c. 1550-1350 BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Africa, Egypt (Ancient)
- Period
- Mitannian period
- Culture
- Hurrian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/287264
Location
- Location
-
Level 3, Room 3440, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Middle Eastern Art in the Service of Kings
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Sintered quartz
- Technique
- Intaglio
- Dimensions
- 2.5 x 1.2 cm (1 x 1/2 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Marcopoli collection, Aleppo, (by 1984). McLendon collection, (by 1993), sold; [through Christie's, New York, June 14, 1993, lot 208], sold; to Harvard University Art Museums, 1993.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Marian H. Phinney Fund
- Accession Year
- 1993
- Object Number
- 1993.193
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.
Descriptions
- Description
- Two figures in fringed robes, hands clasped, flank a tree; recumbent stags with guilloche (cable) and foliate motif.
Exhibition History
- Impressions of Mesopotamia: Seals from the Ancient Near East, Arthur M. Sackler Museum
- Re-View: S422 Ancient & Byzantine Art & Numismatics, Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Cambridge, 04/12/2008 - 06/18/2011
- 32Q: 3440 Middle East, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050
Verification Level
This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu