Stamp and Cylinder Seals of Ancient Near East

In the ancient Near Eastern world, people created seals to indicate one’s ownership over their properties, much similar to personalized stamps or signatures we use today. There were largely two types of stamps: Stamp seal and Cylinder seal. 

Stamp seals are in the shape of hemispheres, domes, pyramids or simply had one or more flat sides depicting a design.   The early stamp seals were relatively simple with few designs.  After around 5000 BC, figurative designs started to appear on the seals, most of which consisted of animals and hunting scenes. 

By 3200 BC, seals were made in cylinder form that permitted the seal to be rolled over wet clay to produce a continuous image or frieze. 

The primary use of seals was to designate ownership. They were impressed on the clay that sealed storage jars and on lumps of clay wrapped around ropes securing bales of goods.  When the clay hardened, the impression became a permanent record, a sign of ownership.  The shape and size of cylinder seals, the type of material used, and the designs carved into the surface varied according to period and area.  As of this date, cylinders seals made from hard stones ( often black or dark green) have been found, but also of lapis lazuli, chalcedony, agate, jasper, marble, carnelian and crystal.

Cylinder seals are the only object from the ancient Near East surviving in quantity over the entire period.  Therefore, for the history of art, they are unique.  In addition, some carry inscriptions naming the ancient owners, or giving other valuable information, which is also unique since captions on objects are extremely rare in this area and period. Since cylinder seals are small and mostly made of stone, many have survived intact, while other objects such as large sculpture in the round and large stone reliefs have rarely survived intact, if at all.  Victorious armies often destroyed them of set plan, or plunderers and vandals as well as the elements took a toll of them over the centuries.  Thus, a major collection of cylinder seals has an importance well beyond the size and bulk of the objects. 

Cylinder seals are somewhat a kin to Chinese scrolls in that they need to be “unraveled”, or “rolled out”.  Because they cannot be seen completely without turning them, they are sort of early animations. Some have one continuous scene, others are “compartmentalized”, and some have inscriptions.  Many of the earliest ones have simple geometric patterns, and there are many traditional scenes involving nobility, Gods, hunters, and beasts.  Most are meant to be scrolled horizontally.

There are small seals and large seals, some lean and some fat.  In many instances, the incised images are very hard to discern directly from the seal, often because of the stone’s particular coloration, and most seals that are auctioned nowadays come with a gray clay tablet on which the seal’s impression has been made, which makes it easier to visualize.  Remarkably, the three-dimensionality of the carving is usually quite pronounced and the collectors prize the quality of the images. 

At Sadigh Gallery, we have a collection of ancient stamp and cylinder seals from ancient Syria, Assyria, Babylonia, Mesopotamia, Persia,  and Sumer.   The prices range according to the quality of the images as well as the materials used.  We have variety of seals that are made with steatite (more common), and some of the more variable ones made with semi-precious stones such as agate.   If you are looking for specific types of seals, please consult Sadigh Gallery Ancient Art, Inc. and we will be happy to assist you! 

You can also visit our website www.sadighgallery.com

Sadigh Gallery’s Sumerian Seal Collection:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=seals&sortby=0&catid=34

Sadigh Gallery’s  Mesopotamian Seal Collection:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=seals&sortby=0&catid=26

Sadigh Gallery’s Babylonian Seal Collection:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=seals&sortby=0&catid=11

Sadigh Gallery’s  Assyrian Seal Collection:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=seals&sortby=0&catid=10

Sadigh Gallery’s Syrian Seal Collection:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=seals&sortby=0&catid=35

Sadigh Gallery’s Persian Seal Collection:

http://www.sadighgallery.com/search.asp?keyword=seals&sortby=0&catid=28