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Amygdaloid seal with an ewer and ivy leaf
Early Aegean, Minoan
Bronze Age, Middle Minoan III–Late Minoan IA Period
about 1750–1500 B.C.
Medium/Technique
Carnelian
Dimensions
Length x width x thckns: 2.1 x 1.5 x .6 cm (13/16 x 9/16 x 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Frederick Brown Fund
Accession Number66.815
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAncient Greece and Rome
ClassificationsSeals
DescriptionReddish-orange carnelian. Intaglio. Slightly convex front and back surfaces. A large, heart-shaped ivy leaf fills the right half of the composition on this almond-shaped, or amygdaloid, seal. Delicate diagonal hatch marks cover the leaf and a thicker vertical vein runs down its middle. To the left of the leaf is a ewer, a type of pitcher with a wide spout. The ewer’s sinuous handle extends nearly to its base. The circular body of the vessel is rendered by a particularly deep drill mark. The combination of imagery of a ewer and a leaf may be talismanic, though it is not certain. The seal is pierced lengthwise.
ProvenanceBy 1966, with Ars Antiqua AG, Haldenstrasse 5, Lucerne, Switzerland (Ars Antiqua catalogue, June 1966, no. 105, said to be from Crete); purchased by MFA from Ars Antiqua AG, October 11, 1966