the university of chicago • oriental institute publications john albert wilson & thomas george allen

127 Pages·2012·10.29 MB·English

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THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO • ORIENTAL INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS
JOHN ALBERT WILSON & THOMAS GEORGE ALLEN • EDITORS
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ANCIENT ORIENTAL
CYLINDER AND OTHER SEALS
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE
COLLECTION OF
MRS. WILLIAM H. MOORE
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THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS • CHICAGO
THE BAKER & TAYLOR COMPANY, NEW YORK • THE CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY
PRESS, LONDON • THE MARUZEN-KABUSHIKI-KAISHA, TOKYO, OSAKA,
KYOTO, FUKUOKA, SENDAI • THE COMMERCIAL PRESS, LIMITED, SHANGHAI
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T HE U N I V E R S I TY OF C H I C A GO
O R I E N T AL I N S T I T U TE P U B L I C A T I O NS
V O L U ME X L V II
ANCIENT ORIENTAL
CYLINDER AND OTHER SEALS
WITH A DESCRIPTION OF
THE COLLECTION OF
MRS. WILLIAM H. MOORE
BY GUSTAVUS A. EISEN
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS • CHICAGO • ILLINOIS
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COPYRIGHT 1940 BY THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO • ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED • PUBLISHED APRIL 1940 • COMPOSED AND PRINTED BY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS • CHICAGO • ILLINOIS • U.S.A.
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PREFACE
In the preparation of this publication the author's aim has been to serve two types of read
ers. As a publication of source material, the plates and Catalogue will be of use to the special
ist, who will find there several rare or unique pieces as well as new examples of better known
types of seals.
For the nonspecialist there are chapters designed to furnish a background for the apprecia
tion of the collection. A survey of the history and religion of the makers of the seals is given in
chapters i-ii. Chapter hi explains the system of classification adopted, summarizing the chief
characteristics of each glyptic group, then showing how Mrs. Moore's seals fit into the general
scheme. Such material is often kept to a minimum in publications of collections, and it is
hoped that the more detailed treatment given here will prove useful to collectors and students.
In the Catalogue (chap, iv) a departure has been made from the practice of some writers in
that references have been given to seals with similar designs published in other collections or in
excavation reports. It may be objected that this comparative material is incomplete, since
not all the parallels among seals have been cited, while those from other art forms—sculpture,
plaques, metal work, etc.—have been omitted entirely. In spite of this objection, the compari
sons cited should prove to be of some value; in certain cases they are of use for dating, and in
others they are of interest for the interpretation of the design. If only EL few readers are led by
this means to the fascinating pursuit of the variations on a single subject or the interrelations
of a group of scenes, the effort of assembling the parallels will have been worth while.
In chapter v a few subjects of special interest are discussed in some detail, though here again
the treatment is not comprehensive.
The inscriptions are published in chapter vi. Some of the Pahlavi inscriptions were read by
Professor Ernst Herzfeld. All the other inscriptions were studied by members of the Oriental
Institute staff—Sumerian and Akkadian by Drs. I. J. Gelb and Thorkild Jacobsen, Aramaic by
Dr. R. A. Bowman, South Arabic by Dr. Gelb, Pahlavi by Professor Martin Sprengling, and
Egyptian by Dr. T. George Allen.
Professor King Hubbert of Columbia University assisted in determining the materials of the
seals.
The illustrations of the seal designs are actual size. They were made from photographs of
the impressions except in the case of the gold ring No. 183. Designations of "right" and "left"
refer to the impressions.
The author wishes to express his gratitude to Mrs. Moore for the opportunity to publish her
splendid collection, to Professor John A. Wilson, director of the Oriental Institute, for includ
ing this book in the series of "Oriental Institute Publications/' and to Professor A. T.
Olmstead for his unfailing interest in the work. He also wishes to thank Mr. Fahim Kouchakji
for assistance in the preparation of the manuscript and illustrations, Dr. T. George Allen, edi
torial secretary of the Oriental Institute, for his supervision of the publication, and Dr. George
G. Cameron and Mrs. Ruth S. Brookens of the Oriental Institute for their help in editing the
manuscript.
VII
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
LIST OF PLATES xi
LIST OF ABBEEVIATIONS xiii
I. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 1
Mesopotamia 1
Babylonia 1
Assyria 4
Asia Minor 5
Cyprus 6
The Iranian Highland Zone 8
II. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND 11
III. CLASSIFICATION OF THE COLLECTION 20
The Mesopotamian Development 21
Uruk Period , 22
Jamdat Nasr Period 22
Early Mesopotamian Stamp Seals 23
Early Dynastic I 23
Early Dynastic II 24
Early Dynastic III 24
Akkadian Period 25
Third Dynasty of Ur 27
First Dynasty of Babylon 28
Kassite Period 28
Assyrian Period 29
Assyrian or Neo-Babylonian Stamps 30
Neo-Babylonian Cylinders 31
Achaemenian Period 31
Parthian and Sasanian Periods 31
Non-Mesopotamian Seals 32
Stamp Seals 32
Cappadocian Cylinders 34
First Syrian Group 34
Second Syrian Group 35
Mitannian Cylinder 37
Kirkuk-Style Seals . 37
Third Syrian Group 38
Egyptianized Cylinders 39
Minoan Seals 39
Hellenistic(?) Cylinder 39
Unclassified Seals 39
IV. THE CATALOGUE 40
Mesopotamian Seals 40
Non-Mesopotamian Seals 56
Unclassified Seals 66
V. NOTES ON THE DESIGNS 68
Deities QS
Ea and His Associates 68
Shamash 69
ix
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X TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Ishtar 70
Adad or Teshub 70
Nergal 70
Amurru(?) . 70
Ashur 71
Marduk, Nabu, and Nusku 71
Egyptian Deities 71
Heroes and Demons 71
Animals and Monsters 73
Celestial Bodies 74
Water 76
Vessels 76
Weapons 77
Emblems and Symbols 78
VI. THE INSCRIPTIONS 81
Cuneiform 81
Egyptian 83
Aramaic 83
South Arabic(?) 83
Pahlavi 83
Index of Names 83
CORRELATION OF ACCESSION NUMBERS WITH CATALOGUE NUMBERS 85
INDEX OF REFERENCES TO THE SEALS 87
GENERAL INDEX 89