Worshiper led by minor goddess toward enthroned god

between 2000 B.C. and 1800 B.C.
black serpentine
28 x 18.5 mm
Morgan Seal 309
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"Worship of deities, characterized as such by their horned miters, is portrayed in 308-312... Among small objects in the field, the combination of vessel and ball staff appears most frequently. These two objects are usually placed in a juxtaposition suggesting some relation between them (299, 302, 304, 308-310). Their association in this manner persists up to the end of the First Dynasty of Babylon. In contrast to the treatment of the ball staff in its few earlier representations (84, 190), the ball appears from now on at the side rather than in the center of the staff... The presence of the crook, which is typical of the fully developed style of the First Dynasty of Babylon, suggests a later dating for this seal." Porada, CANES, p. 37-39

Summary: 

Worshiper led by minor goddess toward enthroned goddess -- In field: vessel; crescent and ball staff (before seated goddess) -- Terminal: lion-headed eagle over scorpion.

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Period: 
Classification: 
Department: