Sumerian Clay Bulla Envelope Containing Tokens
Uruk Period, circa 5500-3500 B.C. A rare spherical ceramic bulla envelope containing clay tokens, the exterior surface impressed with elaborate zoomorphic motifs, including a rampant lion, sheep, a bull and galloping horned ibex, together with a 'sacred tree'. Cf. The Oriental Institute Museum, Woods, C. ed., Visible Language: Inventions of Writing in the Ancient Middle East and Beyond, University of Chicago, 2010, p.68, for this type of object and the whole article for relevant discussion. 49 grams, 49 mm wide (2 in.). Specialised collection of cuneiform texts, the property of a London gentleman and housed in London before 1992. Thence by descent to family members. 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. The collection is exceptional for the variety of types, including some very rare and well preserved examples. Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated typed catalogue page. The sacred tree depicted here appears on Uruk cylinder seals. Its presence alongside these specific animals suggests a possible association with the cult of Tammuz. The tokens sealed within the bulla are believed to have been used as part of the accounting process in Sumerian or early Uruk agriculture. The exterior surface of our bulla envelope is particularly densely populated with animals and constitutes a really exceptional example of this very rare type.