Attendant with fan and towel facing king(?)

between 883 B.C. and 824 B.C.
black serpentine
37 x 12 (14) mm
Morgan Seal 667
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"In 667 the figure wears a pointed cap, but this may be a soldier's helmet rather than royal headgear. All other seals show the figure bareheaded. It is therefore conceivable that a high-ranking officer is here represented. However, since only the king is shown with a cup in the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal, it is equally possible that it is the king who is portrayed in these seals... The scenes of 665-672 each comprise only two figures,those of a king and an attendant. The latter is swaying a fan or fly whisk over a vessel set in a stand (665-671)... Since the treatment of the subject is similar in all these seals, the chevron borders of 665 and 666 may indicate a ninth-century dating for these cylinders, as in the case of 610 above. An even more definite criterion for dating, however,is provided by the spiked shield on the attendant's back in 666, 667, and 672. This shield is of a type found only on the reliefs of Ashurnasirpal II and on the bronze gates made in the time of his son, Shalmaneser III."--Porada, CANES, p. 80

Summary: 

Attendant with fan and towel facing king(?), who holds cup and bow; between them, stand with vessel -- Globes in field -- Terminal: crescent above plant with four shoots.

Classification: 
Department: