Rare Levant Stone Stamp Seal Bead w/ Egypt Hieroglyphs

Near East, the Levant/Syro-Palestine, Middle Bronze Age, ca. early 2nd millennium BCE (corresponding to the Middle Kingdom in Egypt). A beautiful limestone stamp seal bead, covered in hieroglyphics incised by a sure, steady hand, from a time of great cultural exchange between pharaonic Egypt and the kingdoms of the ancient Near East. Just as Egyptians began to use cylinder seals during this time, people in the Near East began to carve hieroglyphs into their seals rather than cuneiform or their own cultural imagery. Like on this seal, these are often dense clusters of images that don't translate into meaningful phrases. Size: 0.7" W (1.8 cm); 1.7" H (4.3 cm) on included custom stand.

Provenance: private Zaveloff collection, Lakewood, New Jersey, USA, acquired at auction before 2004

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#151414
Condition Report: Very light wear on surface commensurate with age, including some small chips and scratches; the motifs are very well preserved with light deposits. Accompanied by a clay rollout of the motifs.