Lion-griffins attacking bull

Download image: 
between 1400 B.C. and 1300 B.C.
yellowish chert
24 x 11.5 mm
Morgan Seal 594
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"Dating of 594 in the fourteenth century is indicated by its similarity to a seal impression of that time (Weber 316a). In each instance a decorative motif is formed by using the wings of the lion-griffins to frame a palmette tree. In the scene of the impression the shoulder feathers of the lion-griffin's wings are indicated by drillings. This distinctive detail (which appears to derive from Mitannian designs), though it is lacking in 594, does appear in 595." Porada, CANES, p. 68

Summary: 

Two lion-griffins attacking bull between them -- Terminal: palmette tree.

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Classification: 
Department: