Rampant bulls

between 2700 B.C. and 2500 B.C.
pale-pink marble
25 x 20 mm
Morgan Seal 50
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"The glyptic style of the Second Early Dynastic period continued the tendencies of the preceding period in the effort to achieve a satisfactory decorative pattern. However, deep linear, often coarse engraving replaces the flat incisions seen on earlier seals like 46-48, and the composition of the designs changes accordingly. The animals and humans are usually pictured in half-erect postures and arranged in continuous bands in which the figures fill the entire height of the seal, all the heads being on the same level, regardless of the posture of the figure. This is well illustrated by 50, which renders the earlier subject of an animal row in the characteristic style of the Second Early Dynastic period." Porada, CANES, p. 9

Summary: 

Four rampant bulls with plant and leaves.

Place: 
Southern Mesopotamia.
Classification: 
Department: