Four nude female figures in facing pairs

between 1500 B.C. and 1350 B.C.
hematite
15.5 x 8 mm
Morgan Seal 1023
Provenance: 
Acquired by Pierpont Morgan sometime between 1885 and 1908.
Notes: 

"Among the Elamite elements... are the funnel-shaped heads of the gods and worshipers in 1022 and the row of nude female figures in 1023. The only known seal besides 1023 that shows more than two nude females is Louvre D. 10, of the Dieulafoy collection, which was acquired principally in Susa and its vicinity. The funnel-shaped head seems to be a typical Elamite rendering, since it appears in sculpture from Susa, as well as in a seal discovered in Luristan, a region that was perhaps once part of Elam. While the almost abstract quality of the design in 1023 expresses one of the general tendencies in Mitannian glyptic, the rendering of the figures by means of accentuated tubular forms and juxtaposed parallel lines as found in 1023, and to a lesser extent in 1022, has no counterpart in typical Mitannian designs. Since this method of composing figures is rather common in certain seals of probably Elamite origin, as for example Guimet 93, which is from Hamadan, and Hague 13, which has a possibly Elamite inscription, it may be considered distinctive enough to indicate that 1022 and 1023 represent the Elamite aspect of Mitannian glyptic."--Porada, CANES, p. 142

Summary: 

"Four nude females in facing pairs, separated by three vertical bars -- Second bar topped by star with three short horizontal lines near its base." Porada, CANES, p. 142

Classification: 
Department: