Worshiper by flaming altar

between 1300 B.C. and 1155 B.C.
hematite
12 mm diameter
Morgan Seal 589
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"The first four seals of the present group (586-589) are engraved in the style that prevailed in Assyria in the fourteenth century B.C. They show the same delicate modeling of the figures as the seals of that style, and a somewhat similar treatment of the space. It seems likely, therefore, that they date from the same time... Seals 588 and 589 both present ritual themes. Although such themes occur occasionally on Assyrian cylinders of the thirteenth century, certain details of 588 and 589 possibly mark them as of Kassite origin. Seal 588 shows a horse's head on a pedestal and a bird on a pole; these are found elsewhere only on a Babylonain boundary stone. Furthermore, the garment of the worshiper resembles the apparel of the figures on an indubitably Kassite cylinder. In 589 the figure standing with raised weapon behind the altar--and possibly representing a god or king--wears a cap with pendant tassel that is typically Babylonian; for example, such a cap is worn by King Marduk-apal-iddina II as portrayed on a boundary stone of his time, the end of the eighth century. Furthermore, the cross in the field is a common Kassite design and may indicate Kassite origin, although such a cross occurs in a similar scene found in a contemporaneous seal impression from Ashur." Porada, CANES, p. 66

Summary: 

Worshiper stretching hand toward flame on altar -- Behind altar, figure holding weapon in each hand -- Star, sun, and crescent in sky -- Terminal: tree between cross and loop (detail of broken-off design).

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Period: 
Classification: 
Department: