Griffin-demon facing nude goddess with opened veil

between 1650 B.C. and 1350 B.C.
hematite
17 x 9 mm
Morgan Seal 941
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"The figure of a woman lifting the ends of her veil and displaying her nudity, as found in 937-944, is differentiated from the earlier Syrian and Cappadocian representations of a nude female by a more rounded form and a more elaborate coiffure. The hair is bound up in the back, but otherwise it resembles the ornate coiffure of the goddess in an ivory relief from Ras Shamra that reflects the feminine fashion prevailing in the Levant and in the Aegean regions around the middle of the second millennium. A dating at about this time is likewise suggested by the vase held by the enthroned figure in 937, since it corresponds in shape with a Mycenean gold cup dated in the second half of the sixteenth century B.C. ... In 941 she faces a griffin-demon reaching toward a winged sun disk. It is not certain that this juxtaposition indicates a relation between her and the demon, though a relation is suggested in the case of figures facing her in other seals ..."--Porada, CANES, p. 124

Summary: 

Griffin-demon on one knee reaching toward winged sun disk above and facing nude goddess with opened veil, worshiper beside her -- Before goddess, scorpion -- Behind demon, triple-ringed cup.

Classification: 
Department: