Sasanian Agate Stamp Seals | Winged Figure and Fire Altar, Trio

Western Asia, Persia, Sasanian Empire, ca. 400–600 CE. A trio of dome-shaped agate stamp seals, two warm orange and one near-colorless, each body faceted with shallow circular hollows and pierced laterally for suspension. The intaglio faces carry distinct devices: the largest, a winged figure striding within a beaded border and holding a long banner; the smaller orange stone, a symmetrical emblem of crescents and rings read as a personal or family device; and the translucent example, a stylized fire altar rendered in crisp linear strokes. Cut with wheel and drill into hardstone, such seals served as legal signatures, pressed into clay bullae to close and authenticate documents, sacks, and letters throughout the Sasanian bureaucracy. Size: 0.75" Diam (1.9 cm Diam).

Sasanian seals are the most abundant surviving artifacts of the empire's administration. Worn on a cord at the wrist or neck, they sealed the clay bullae that secured correspondence and goods, and their devices functioned as legally binding identifiers of individuals, offices, and religious institutions. The faceted or "pearled" dome, hollowed with a rotary tool into overlapping circular depressions, is a characteristic later Sasanian form.

The fire altar seen on the colorless stone is the central emblem of Zoroastrianism, the state religion, and appears on Sasanian coinage from Ardashir I onward; the sacred flame maintained on a stepped plinth stood for both divine order and royal legitimacy. Winged figures in Sasanian glyptic are generally understood as personifications of victory or divine favor, ultimately descended from Hellenistic Nike types absorbed into Persian visual language.

Provenance: Private NYC. collection, acquired from Henry Anavian, Sumer Gallery, NYC., 1980’s.

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Item #

73281

Condition
The largest example has some scattered edge wear from use, otherwise all are intact. Excellent condition.

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