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Amygdaloid seal with floral motif
Early Aegean, Minoan
Bronze Age, Middle Minoan III–Late Minoan I Period
about 1750–1460 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Breccia
Dimensions
1.6 x 1.2 x 0.6 cm (5/8 x 1/2 x 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Beulah H. Emmet
Accession Number1971.162
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSeals
DescriptionOrange, white and black breccia. Amygdaloid seal; pierced horizontally. Composite floral design with a central papyrus-shaped bloom flanked by two half-heart-shaped leaves decorated with two parallel diagonal lines over a groundline. Above the bloom, a reversed crescent. The crescent and rounded parts of the leaves were engraved with a tubular drill. The bottom of the bloom is drilled. Small chip missing at the top.
ProvenanceBy 1928: Mrs. Beulah H. Emmet Collection (one of a group of gems [MFA 1971.159-.176] acquired on Crete from Mr. Kephalogiannis in 1928, according to M. H. Wiencke, AJA 73 [1969], p. 33); gift of Mrs. Beulah H. Emmet to MFA, April 14, 1971