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Cylinder seal

Near Eastern, Mesopotamian, Babylonian
Neo-Babylonian
625–539 B.C.

Medium/Technique Smoky chalcedony
Dimensions Overall: 0.4 x 0.1 cm (3/16 x 1/16 in.)
Credit Line Seth K. Sweetser Fund
Accession Number41.478
ClassificationsSeals

DescriptionA bearded man in a long, girded garment has one hand raised and in the other holds a long staff. He faces two altars. On the first rests a rectangular object with rounded corners supporting a crescent of the moon god Sin; on the second stands the lion-headed standard of the underworld god Nergal. Inscribed: "Nabû, Protector of soul and life...The seal of Nergal (?)-sêr-ibni, Commander of Kutha, son of Sin-shadû-nu."
ProvenanceBy 1941: with Mrs. Agnes Baldwin Brett; 1941: purchased by the MFA from Mrs. Brett for $750.
(Accession Date: May 8, 1941)