Beschreibung:

NEAR EASTERN AKKADIAN CYLINDER SEAL WITH SEATED FIGURE 3000-2000 BC A carved shell cylinder seal with seated figure and attendant, accompanied by an old scholarly note, typed and signed by W.G. Lambert, late Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder seal of fossil shell, 30.5 x 19.5 mm. The design, which is done by a mixture of the drill and lines cut by a graver, consists of a seated figure holding a straw in one hand from which he is drinking from a large jar placed in front of him, while a standing servant attends on the other side of the jar. As a terminal there is a long pole. This is a seal from central Mesopotamia, from the Akkadian period, circa 3000-2000 BC. The drinking with a straw indicates that beer was the drink, since the husks of the barley were not strained out, and were kept out of the mouth in drinking by using a straw.' 23 grams, 30mm (1 1/4"). Fine condition. [No Reserve] Provenance From an important collection of Classical and Near Eastern seals formed in the late 1970s and early 1980s; the property of a London gentleman. Footnotes This lot is part of a single collection of cylinder seals which were examined by the late Professor Lambert in the 1980s and many are accompanied by Professor Lambert's own detailed notes; the collection has recently been reviewed by Dr. Ronald Bonewitz. It is accompanied by a museum-quality impression of the seal's design.