Advanced Search 
Discoid seal with a cuttlefish
Early Aegean, Minoan
Bronze Age, Middle Minoan IIIB–Late Minoan IA Period
about 1700–1600 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Chalcedony
Dimensions
Length: 21 mm (13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Harriet Otis Cruft Fund
Accession Number68.701
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsJewelry, Ancient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSeals
DescriptionGray and light brown chalcedony. Discoid seal with a large tall vertical wall; pierced. Cuttlefish in vertical position flanked by stylized branches. Semi-circular lunettes on the front of the cuttlefish’s body, probably representing fins or gills. Three arms radiate from the beak and two curve back along the body. A flaw in the stone has created a hole in the front and back of the seal. Missing chips near the wall.
ProvenanceBy date unknown: R. M. Dawkins Collection (CMS 8, 1966, no. 43);
by date unknown: with Münzen und Medaillen A.G., Malzgasse 25, Basel, Switzerland; purchased by MFA from Münzen und Medaillen A.G., November 13, 1968
by date unknown: with Münzen und Medaillen A.G., Malzgasse 25, Basel, Switzerland; purchased by MFA from Münzen und Medaillen A.G., November 13, 1968