Ancient near Eastern Seals in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

Abstract

THis catalogue of ancient Near Eastern seals is published and the photographs are reproduced by kind permission of the Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. The term ancient Near East is here used to cover the period from the prehistoric age until the end of the Achaemenid Empire. The majority of the seals in the Collection are Mesopotamian in origin but Achaemenid art is well represented and there are a few examples of Syrian, Anatolian and Phoenician glyptic; Egyptian seals have not been included. None of the seals was obtained through excavation and in only a few cases is it known where they were acquired. In consequence their classification has had to be based entirely on stylistic grounds. No attempt has been made in this article to give a general history of the development of Near Eastern glyptic art since this has been treated in a number of publications, notably H. Frankfort, Cylinder Seals, A. Moortgat, T7orderasiatische Rollsiegel, E. Porada, Corpus of Ancient Near Eastern Seals in North American Collections, vol. I, H. H. von der Osten, Altorientalische Siegelsteine der Sammlung Hans Si/bins von Auloch (Studia Ethnographica Upsaliensis, vol. XIII). The seals have been classified according to form into three groups: 1, cylinder seals; II, seal-amulets; III, stamp seals. Groups I and III have been subdivided according to region, but so far as possible a chronological arrangement has been followed in order to give a continuous presentation of the development of glyptic art. The measurements of the seals are given in millimetres; for cylinders, height followed by diameter of the end; for seal-amulets, length of the seal surface; for stamp seals, height, and length and width of the seal surface in that order. Except where stated on the Plates (V-XI) the photographs reproduce the seals at their actual size.