Sasanian
Iran
3rd to 5th century AD
Rock crystal and agate
Antelope 1.06 inches (2.7 cm), scorpion 0.8 inches (2 cm), soldier 1.06 inches (2.7 cm)
Provenance: Artemission Gallery, London
Three seals, two cut from clear rock crystal and one from a banded agate that runs from near black through grey to translucent white. Each is a rounded dome pierced through its width so it could be worn on a cord, and the curved outer surface of each is worked with shallow circular hollows that catch the light and break up the mass of the stone. The flat underside of each carries the intaglio: an antelope on one, a scorpion on the second, and a standing soldier on the third.
The device was the point of the object, cut in reverse so that pressing it into damp clay or wax left the design raised and the right way round. Seals of this kind were used across the Sasanian administration to close and authenticate documents, goods, and containers, and the choice of image identified the owner. The animal and figural subjects here are among the most common types, which is why they are also the most legible to a modern eye.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Sasanian
Iran
3rd to 5th century AD
Rock crystal and agate
Antelope 1.06 inches (2.7 cm), scorpion 0.8 inches (2 cm), soldier 1.06 inches (2.7 cm)
Provenance: Artemission Gallery, London
Three seals, two cut from clear rock crystal and one from a banded agate that runs from near black through grey to translucent white. Each is a rounded dome pierced through its width so it could be worn on a cord, and the curved outer surface of each is worked with shallow circular hollows that catch the light and break up the mass of the stone. The flat underside of each carries the intaglio: an antelope on one, a scorpion on the second, and a standing soldier on the third.
The device was the point of the object, cut in reverse so that pressing it into damp clay or wax left the design raised and the right way round. Seals of this kind were used across the Sasanian administration to close and authenticate documents, goods, and containers, and the choice of image identified the owner. The animal and figural subjects here are among the most common types, which is why they are also the most legible to a modern eye.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
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