SUMERIAN CYLINDER SEAL WITH RUNNING ANIMALS

Ca. 3100 - 2900 BC. A cylinder seal made of translucent stone. It depicts a frieze of mythological running animals made in a stylised manner, in the forest represented by tall trees under stars and the moon in the sky. The seal is pierced vertically with a drill. Size: 22.8mm x 12mm; Weight: 5.68g Provenance: Private London collection of an Ancient Art dealer; Formerly in a central London family collection, 1990s; Suggested to be examined by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert FBA (1926-2011), historian, archaeologist, and specialist in Assyriology and Near Eastern archaeology, in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Estimate: GBP 150 - 300