Worshiper led by woman carrying vase toward goddess enthroned on back of bird

between 2139 and 2113 B.C.
greenish-black serpentine
50 x 9 (10.5) mm
Morgan Seal 260
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"Seals 254-261 are distinguished by their deeply incised engraving, which is most obvious in the human faces. The subjects of these seals are all derived from Akkad designs depicting worship of deities. Ritual scenes with female participants, who are undifferentiated except by their actions (255-259), are more numerous than ritual scenes in which the principal figure is distinguished as a deity by being rendered with a horned miter (254, 260, 261) ... The birds in the lower registers of 258 and 260 are one more reason for giving a Post-Akkad date to these cylinders, because such birds occur also on cylinders such as Newell 218, which are characterized as Post-Akkad because of their Sumerian inscriptions." Porada, CANES, p. 31-32

Summary: 

Above: female worshiper led by woman carrying flowing vase toward goddess enthroned on back of bird with indeterminate object before her -- Terminal comprising crescent, second indeterminate object, scorpion, one above other -- Below: three swans in water, indeterminate objects in sky.

Classification: 
Department: