Lot 141A

Akkadian Hematite & Egyptian Faience Cylinder Seals - Figural Scenes

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Lot 141
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Akkadian Hematite & Egyptian Faience Cylinder Seals - Figural Scenes
Akkadian Hematite & Egyptian Faience Cylinder Seals - Figural Scenes
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Akkadian Hematite & Egyptian Faience Cylinder Seals - Figural Scenes

Estimate: $800 - $1,200

Starting Bid: $400

(0 Bids)
by Artemis Fine Arts
August 6, 2026 9:00 AM MDT
Live Auction
686 S. Taylor Avenue
Suite 108
Louisville, CO, US 80027

Mesopotamia, Akkadian, ca. 2334 - 2154 BCE; Egypt, Late Dynastic Period, ca. 664 - 332 BCE, ca. 2334–332 BCE. A pair of ancient cylinder seals, each drilled longitudinally to be worn as a bead and rolled across wet clay to leave a continuous relief impression. The darker seal, carved from dense black hematite, belongs to the Akkadian tradition of Mesopotamia and yields a presentation or worship scene of standing figures flanking what appears to be a seated or robed deity, rendered with the crisp modeling that distinguishes glyptic art of the period. Its companion, larger and paler, is molded of pale green Egyptian faience from the Late Dynastic Period, its worn surface preserving a figure beside a stylized tree or plant motif. Objects of both authority and adornment, cylinder seals authenticated documents, sealed goods, and asserted personal identity across the ancient Near East and Nile Valley. Size of larger (Egyptian): 0.3" Diam x 0.8" H (0.8 cm Diam x 2.0 cm H).

The cylinder seal was the signature of the ancient Near East. Introduced in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BCE, it was engraved in intaglio so that rolling it across damp clay produced a raised, repeating frieze, the owner's mark on tablets, jar stoppers, and door sealings. Under the Akkadian Empire (ca. 2334 to 2154 BCE), seal cutters reached a high point of naturalism, favoring hematite for its hardness and lustrous black finish, and populating the field with gods, heroes, and contest or presentation scenes. Egypt, whose native sealing tradition centered on the scarab, adopted the cylinder form under Near Eastern influence; faience examples of the Late Dynastic Period translate the format into the characteristic glazed silica paste whose copper colorant fires to the luminous blue-green prized along the Nile.

Provenance: private Marysville, Washington, USA collection; ex-private Seattle, Washington, USA collection, acquired 1970-2000 via US and online auctions

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Item # 204068

  • Condition: Some nicks and abrasions to faience as well as light wear to hematite. Otherwise, both are intact and wearable with good remaining detail.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $299 $25
$300 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 + $20,000