C. 3000 BC

A Mesopotamian domed, stamp seal made of white stone and pierced longitudinally for suspension.  The base is engraved with a border of water creatures surrounding a central creature. The stamp seal was a carved object which was used to impress pictures or descriptions into soft, prepared clay. They also guaranteed the authenticity of marked ownership.

Intact with earthy surface deposits in good condition.

Provenance: London Collection in 1990’s, accompanying slip seen by the late W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993.

Size: 37mm x 41mm