1931.162.6: Stamp Seal in the Shape of a Recumbent Bull: Two Dogs?
SealsAn off-white marble anamorphic form that is shown on a grey background and facing the viewer. The body is laying down and the bottom of the piece is flat with two visible legs horizontal along the body. There is a deep hole on the center-bottom. The rounded head sits upright on the left hand side and has two shallow holes for eyes. The wide ears on top are round and flat against the head. There is some yellow coloration along the head and top of the body.
Identification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1931.162.6
- Title
- Stamp Seal in the Shape of a Recumbent Bull: Two Dogs?
- Classification
- Seals
- Work Type
- seal
- Date
- c. 3100-2900 BCE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Nuzi (Mesopotamia)
- Period
- Jemdet Nasr period
- Culture
- Mesopotamian
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/292376
Location
- Location
-
Level 3, Room 3440, Ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern Art, Ancient Middle Eastern Art in the Service of Kings
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Marble
- Technique
- Intaglio
- Dimensions
- 2.2 x 3.4 x 2.5 cm (7/8 x 1 5/16 x 1 in.)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
-
Excavated from Yorghan Tepe, Iraq, (December 1930).
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Harvard-Baghdad School Expedition
- Accession Year
- 1931
- Object Number
- 1931.162.6
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
- Description
- Zoomorphic stamp seal in the shape of a reclining bull with head, horns, and legs clearly represented. The bull's eyes are indicated by drilled holes. The piece is pierced laterally near the base. An incised decoration of two quadrupeds (dogs?) appears on the flat underside. The animals' bodies were created by shallow drill holes and the limbs by incised lines, making taxonomic identification difficult.
Exhibition History
- Impressions of Mesopotamia: Seals from the Ancient Near East, Arthur M. Sackler Museum
- Nuzi and the Hurrians, Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East, Cambridge, 04/01/1998 - 05/01/2008
- 32Q: 3440 Middle East, Harvard Art Museums, 11/16/2014 - 01/01/2050
Subjects and Contexts
- Google Art Project
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