between 2340 B.C. and 2150 B.C.
black serpentine
24 x 14.5 mm
Morgan Seal 222
Provenance:
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes:
"In the seals of the present collection, the earliest representation of the winged gate is found in 222, in which the figures are rendered in the cursory manner of some of the cylinders reflecting the transition between Early Dynastic and Akkad style. In this scene two running men hold ropes attached to a winged gate on the back of a bull." Porada, CANES, p. 28
Summary:
Center: Winged gate on bull's back -- In sky on either side, nude man pulling cord attached to gate -- Below, at left: Figure stretching arms toward nude(?) figure in boat holding bull of central group by rope(?) -- Behind bull, at right, kneeling calf(?).
Place:
Southern Mesopotamia.
Period:
Catalog link:
Classification:
Department: