Seal cylinder; Mesopotamia, northeastern Turkey, 2nd millennium B.C.

Seal cylinder; Mesopotamia, northeastern Turkey, 2nd millennium B.C.
White stone.
Certificate issued by Varosi Christophe in 1994 is attached.
The gold inlay was added after the seal was dated.
Provenance: Private Belgian collection.
Measurements: 5.5 x 3 x 3 cm.
This seal cylinder, carved from white stone, features an impression with zoomorphic motifs—specifically, a succession of birds. These graphic motifs are carved into the seal so that they can be imprinted on clay by rolling the cylinder; this was done using a ring, a handle, or a cord threaded through its drilled axis. The images depicted on cylindrical seals were primarily based on themes—often sociological or religious—thus presenting ideas about society in pictographic and textual form.