Cylinder seal

Unknown (Mesopotamian)

Item type:

decorative art

Date of creation:

ca. 3100 BCE

Height:

2.5 cm  (1 in.)

Diameter:

2.1 cm  ( 13/16 in.)

Technique / Medium:

stone carving

Place of creation:

Mesopotamia

School:

Uruk

Description

Dark grey stone cylinder seal; two figures in a boat and a bull supporting an altar between them. One of the figures is seated and is probably playing the lute. Curator's comments: According to register entry if the seated figure is playing a lute then this is the earliest evidence for this instrument by some eight hundred years.

Instruments [MIMO Code] (notes)

Lute [3394]

RIdIM images

Image URLs

image link 1

RIdIM record id

5343