Wolfe Family Collection of Near Eastern Prehistoric Stamp Seals

Abstract

The Wolfe Collection was assembled in order to give a wider perspective of stamp seals which, until recently, were the poor relative of glyptic research. Prehistoric glyptic is one of the most important media fpr the perception and the understanding of the material and the conceptual world of pre-alphabetic societies. The book seeks to contribute to this understanding by means of a thorough analysis of a preciously unpublished large body of prehistoric stamp seals. These seals enlarge the known corpus of prehistoric stamp seals. The book surveys stamp seals from the earliest late Aceramic Neolithic to the early Bronze Age. The large majority of the seals originate from Syria, South-East Anatolia and North Mesopotamia. A smaller number of stones come from present-day Lebanon and Israel, while few specimens may have originated in Southern Mesopotamia and South-West Iran. The book analyses the various types of prehistoric stamp seals and the prototypes of cylinder seals. The criteria employed for the typological analysis are those of material, size, shape, cutting and engraving techniques, as well as composition and iconography. The terms used by Von Wickede for layout of the motifs are employed. As a result of the paucity of published material, there are many specimens that constitute a missing link between various areas and eras; stamp seals that broaden the iconogrpahic corpus of prehistoric glyptic; and items that advance our understanding of the material and technical procedures in use.