DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0098
6o
EARLY BABYLONIAN PERIOD
daily equipment of the Babylonian, from the king to the com-
moner. According to Herodotus, “Every one carries a seal and
a walking stick.’’ The seal consisted of a cylindrical piece of
stone usually about an inch and a half high, pierced so that a
wire could be inserted, clamped at one end and looped at the
other for the attachment of a cord. Seals were made of various
colored stones, both hard and soft, such as hematite, black
obsidian, varicolored agate, red carnelian and jasper, blue
lapis lazuli, and creamy white alabaster; and were decorated
with a design in intaglio, so that when the seal was rolled over
the soft clay a raised impression was made, just as in the use of
sealing wax today. With this impression the Babylonian sealed,
signed, and identified his letters and documents, which were writ-
ten on clay tablets. Pl. io b shows an impression made from one
of them. At the right is represented the moon-god, Sin, indicated
by the crescent moon near by, to whom a goddess is leading a
king, followed by another goddess with uplifted hands. The god
is a dignified, bearded figure, clothed in the usual long fringed
robe hanging from the left shoulder, and wears a turban like that
of Gudea (Pl. 19 a). The chair in which he sits is quite elaborate,
the back leg being carefully carved to represent an ox’s leg. The
goddesses are elaborately dressed, each wearing a pointed cap,
though the gowns differ, that of the foremost being made of a
series of flounces, while that of the one at the left hangs in long
folds from the shoulders. The moon-god raises his right hand
toward the three as if in a gesture of welcome. We notice here
how well the figures are spaced and with what firmness the
engraver has cut his lines, as in the drapery particularly of the
figure at the left, and also with what delicacy he has indicated
the details such as the ox-leg, the hands, and the fringe.
In a seal of Sargon (Pl. 2.0 c) at each end is a mythological
figure, perhaps Gilgamesh, a demigod like the Greek Heracles,
one knee bent upon the ground, holding a vase from which issue
two streams of water; in the center, back to back, are two bulls
that lift up their heads to drink; immediately above the bulls in
the center is the inscription containing the name of Sargon; below
is the conventional wavelike representation of a stream with its
banks. The scene refers to water as the gift of the gods to man
and to beast. We perceive here, first, how the engraver worked
out the problem or unifying the necessary elements of his design,
which are the god, the animal, and the inscription. The god
kneels and holds the vase in such a way that the stream of
water touches the upturned mouth of the animal, thus naturally
EARLY BABYLONIAN PERIOD
daily equipment of the Babylonian, from the king to the com-
moner. According to Herodotus, “Every one carries a seal and
a walking stick.’’ The seal consisted of a cylindrical piece of
stone usually about an inch and a half high, pierced so that a
wire could be inserted, clamped at one end and looped at the
other for the attachment of a cord. Seals were made of various
colored stones, both hard and soft, such as hematite, black
obsidian, varicolored agate, red carnelian and jasper, blue
lapis lazuli, and creamy white alabaster; and were decorated
with a design in intaglio, so that when the seal was rolled over
the soft clay a raised impression was made, just as in the use of
sealing wax today. With this impression the Babylonian sealed,
signed, and identified his letters and documents, which were writ-
ten on clay tablets. Pl. io b shows an impression made from one
of them. At the right is represented the moon-god, Sin, indicated
by the crescent moon near by, to whom a goddess is leading a
king, followed by another goddess with uplifted hands. The god
is a dignified, bearded figure, clothed in the usual long fringed
robe hanging from the left shoulder, and wears a turban like that
of Gudea (Pl. 19 a). The chair in which he sits is quite elaborate,
the back leg being carefully carved to represent an ox’s leg. The
goddesses are elaborately dressed, each wearing a pointed cap,
though the gowns differ, that of the foremost being made of a
series of flounces, while that of the one at the left hangs in long
folds from the shoulders. The moon-god raises his right hand
toward the three as if in a gesture of welcome. We notice here
how well the figures are spaced and with what firmness the
engraver has cut his lines, as in the drapery particularly of the
figure at the left, and also with what delicacy he has indicated
the details such as the ox-leg, the hands, and the fringe.
In a seal of Sargon (Pl. 2.0 c) at each end is a mythological
figure, perhaps Gilgamesh, a demigod like the Greek Heracles,
one knee bent upon the ground, holding a vase from which issue
two streams of water; in the center, back to back, are two bulls
that lift up their heads to drink; immediately above the bulls in
the center is the inscription containing the name of Sargon; below
is the conventional wavelike representation of a stream with its
banks. The scene refers to water as the gift of the gods to man
and to beast. We perceive here, first, how the engraver worked
out the problem or unifying the necessary elements of his design,
which are the god, the animal, and the inscription. The god
kneels and holds the vase in such a way that the stream of
water touches the upturned mouth of the animal, thus naturally