The Late Assyrian Royal-Seal Type

Abstract

This year is a particularly appropriate one in which to revive the subject of the Royal Assyrian Seal, for it is exactly a century since the publication of Austen H. Layard's Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, in which —among so many other things that remain vivid and delightfully instructive —the royal character of the type of stamp seal under discussion was first suggested. The most recently discovered example of an impression of the Royal Seal was found some months ago at Nimrud.What are the common features found in the extant specimens of impressions of the Royal Seal? It is always a stamp seal, the outline of the engraved sealing surface being circular. The bearded king is shown standing, right foot forward, wearing the standard royal head-dress of the period, his clothing terminating slightly below the knees. His left arm is outstretched, the hand grasping the top of the head of a lion which faces him. The king's right hand holds a dagger which he is plunging into the lion's chest. The lion itself is rampant, left hind leg forward, left front paw hanging ineffectually close to the king's right thigh; the lion's right front leg is poised, ready to strike, behind the lion's head. As in the vast majority of ancient Mesopotamian representations of lions, its mouth is wide open and its tail curls in.