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Requires Photography
Cylinder seal
Near Eastern, Iranian, Persian
Achaemenid
550–331 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Lapis lazuli
Dimensions
Overall: 3.7 x 2 cm (1 7/16 x 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Archibald Cary Coolidge Fund
Accession Number34.1447
CollectionsAncient Egypt, Nubia and the Near East
ClassificationsSeals
DescriptionA bearded hero or demon wearing a long decorated mantle holds a winged, horned lion griffin by its throat and menaces it with a sickle sword. A second, much more crudely incised group shows a king wearing large baggy trousers and the cydaris holding a small quadruped. He holds in one hand a small sword or dagger and wears a quiver.
ProvenanceBy 1934: R. S. Cooke Collection, Harrow-on-the-Hill, Middlesex, England; 1934: purchased by the MFA from Mr. Cooke.*
(Accession date: December 6, 1934)
*Seventeen seals, numbered 34.1440-34.1456 were purchased as a group for $6000.
(Accession date: December 6, 1934)
*Seventeen seals, numbered 34.1440-34.1456 were purchased as a group for $6000.