Neo-Assyrian Stamp Seals | Winged Crescent, Scorpion Man, Rare Pair
Near East, Mesopotamia, Neo-Assyrian, ca. 800–600 BCE. A pair of oval conoid stamp seals, pierced for suspension and carved in hardstone. The first, in white stone, presents on its base two horned ibex chest to chest with heads turned apart, while its flanks bear a scorpion-man, muscular and human above with a long curved tail, and a bearded figure in a long robe raising an object in one hand. The second, a translucent white agate, is engraved with a winged element beneath a crescent moon flanked by two small stars. Both were personal devices, rolled or pressed into damp clay to seal jars, doors, and documents, the imagery serving as signature and amulet at once. Size: 1" Diam x 0.75" H (2.5 cm Diam x 1.9 cm H); 1" Diam x 0.875" H (2.5 cm Diam x 2.2 cm H).
The scorpion-man (girtablullu) guards the gates of the sun's rising in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and appears through Neo-Assyrian art as an apotropaic sentinel, set into palace reliefs and buried as clay figurines beneath thresholds to repel malignant forces. The crescent and stars on the agate belong to the standard Neo-Assyrian astral vocabulary: the crescent of Sin, moon god of Harran, with stellar emblems commonly read as Ishtar's Venus star and the Pleiades or Sibitti.
Conoid seals of this shape supplanted the older cylinder as the dominant sealing form in the first millennium BCE, worn on a cord at the wrist or neck and used to authenticate contracts, letters, and stored goods across the Assyrian bureaucracy.
Provenance: Private NYC. collection, acquired from Henry Anavian, Sumer Gallery, NYC., 1980’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73277
Condition
Some minor edge wear from use, otherwise intact. Ancient chip on the top of the dome and some scattered wear from use.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
Near East, Mesopotamia, Neo-Assyrian, ca. 800–600 BCE. A pair of oval conoid stamp seals, pierced for suspension and carved in hardstone. The first, in white stone, presents on its base two horned ibex chest to chest with heads turned apart, while its flanks bear a scorpion-man, muscular and human above with a long curved tail, and a bearded figure in a long robe raising an object in one hand. The second, a translucent white agate, is engraved with a winged element beneath a crescent moon flanked by two small stars. Both were personal devices, rolled or pressed into damp clay to seal jars, doors, and documents, the imagery serving as signature and amulet at once. Size: 1" Diam x 0.75" H (2.5 cm Diam x 1.9 cm H); 1" Diam x 0.875" H (2.5 cm Diam x 2.2 cm H).
The scorpion-man (girtablullu) guards the gates of the sun's rising in the Epic of Gilgamesh, and appears through Neo-Assyrian art as an apotropaic sentinel, set into palace reliefs and buried as clay figurines beneath thresholds to repel malignant forces. The crescent and stars on the agate belong to the standard Neo-Assyrian astral vocabulary: the crescent of Sin, moon god of Harran, with stellar emblems commonly read as Ishtar's Venus star and the Pleiades or Sibitti.
Conoid seals of this shape supplanted the older cylinder as the dominant sealing form in the first millennium BCE, worn on a cord at the wrist or neck and used to authenticate contracts, letters, and stored goods across the Assyrian bureaucracy.
Provenance: Private NYC. collection, acquired from Henry Anavian, Sumer Gallery, NYC., 1980’s.
SHIPPING: We coordinate worldwide shipping in-house through specialist international forwarders experienced with fine art and antiquities customs manifests. International buyers must confirm, prior to bidding, that their country's customs authority will accept the item. All duties, taxes, clearance fees, and any costs arising from customs delays, seizures, re-export, returns, or loss in transit are the buyer's sole responsibility. Artemis assumes no liability for items refused entry, detained, or lost after export. We cannot ship ancient items to their country of origin (Egyptian to Egypt, Greek to Greece, etc.).For those not using LiveAuctioneers' Live Ship program, Artemis Fine Arts offers expert in-house packing and worldwide shipping. With over 20 years of experience, our team provides careful, reliable, and affordable service. For a quick quote on this lot, please contact support@artemisfinearts.com prior to the auction, or call 720-890-7700.
PAYMENT EXCEPTION: For clients not previously established with Artemis, payment for all gold, precious metal, and gemstone lots must be made by bank wire transfer or certified bank check/money order, without exception.
Item #
73277
Condition
Some minor edge wear from use, otherwise intact. Ancient chip on the top of the dome and some scattered wear from use.
Buyer's Premium
30%
Sale price
Estimate
Reserve
Time, Location
Auction House
