A NEO-ASSYRIAN CYLINDER SEAL FROM SYRIA OR ANATOLIA

Circa 900-700 BC. A cylinder seal of brown stone showing a design between upper and lower bands of three lines. Two main figures compose the design. A composite animal, with a bird’s body, legs and wings, but a scorpion’s tail and human head, and a human-like figure on one knee with head turned backwards, one hand up, one hand down. A lunar crescent and sundry shapes serve as fillers. This is a seal in the Neo-Assyrian tradition, but from North Syria or Anatolia. The seal is accompanied by a copy of a scientific note typed and signed by Professor WG Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993. 32mm x 11mm.Size: L:23mm / W:12mm ; 5.5gProvenance: From the important collection of a London doctor A.R; passed by descent to his son; formerly acquired between 1970-2000. Big parts of the collection were studied/published by Professor Lambert in the early 1990s.