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A Kassite jasper breccia cylinder seal image 1
A Kassite jasper breccia cylinder seal image 2
A Kassite jasper breccia cylinder seal image 3
Lot 151

A Kassite jasper breccia cylinder seal

Antiquities
28 November 2019, 10:30 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £5,062.50 inc. premium

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A Kassite jasper breccia cylinder seal
Circa 1400-1150 B.C.
With a standing figure wearing an ankle-length robe and pointed cap, his hands raised in supplication, with seven columns of Sumerian cuneiform text reading: 'Ishtar of Akkade, Lady who resides above, listen to (my) prayer, accept (my) supplication, Sha-lamassi-damqa (is) your reverent servant. Nur-Belet-Akkade', 4cm high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 12-13 December 1983, lot 20.
Private collection, acquired at the above sale and housed in the UK.

'Sha-lamassi-damqa' lacks a suitable interpretation as an expression, and has been understood to be a personal name. There are, however, numerous seals which include 'Sha-lamassi-damqa', and so the idea that this is a not yet understood expression may be preferable, particularly in the light of the present seal which has a personal determinative before the name Nur-Belet-Akkade but not before 'Sha-lamassi-damqa'. Furthermore, the seal is dedicated to Ishtar of Akkade, an appropriate choice for an original owner named Nur-Belet-Akkade meaning "Light of the Lady of Akkade". Nonetheless, the usual interpretation with the latter name as a secondary owner is retained here, until a new study of the often blundered Sumerian of Kassite seals resolves the issue.

This seal is of the First Kassite Style. For a brief description of type and examples see G. Konstantopoulos, 'Inscribed Kassite Cylinder Seals in the Metropolitan Museum', The Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 53, 2018, p. 97-113.

Additional information

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