Hunting and warfare scene: Horse-riding swordsman hunting bull – Warfare scene: City under siege [triple scene in two registers]

Műveletek

Object no.	S02171
Description of the seal image	The seal image comprises a dual scene above and a single scene below, arranged in superimposed registers framed by line borders at the top and bottom and separated by a ruling in the middle. In the upper register, a horse-riding hunter or soldier (swordsman) wearing broad-belted clothing pursues a bull while running down a headless human figure. He has a sheath at his waist. Above the bull are a crescent moon, an eight-rayed star and a fish, while in front of and below its legs are two single wedges and a double one. In the lower register, a half-kneeling archer wearing a triple-belted tunic with a fringed lower edge aims his bow at the defenders of a fortress or a city with crenellated walls and a gate. Behind him stands another archer wearing a longer triple-belted robe with a fringed lower edge. Each archer has a sword in a sheath at his waist. On top of the walls, there is a figure facing left, likely holding a bow and arrow in his hands, while behind him is an archer aiming at the attackers. On the left side of the fortress is a curved ladder-like element, probably indicating a walkway or a siege ramp below a crescent moon. Three single wedges appear, one under the walkway, and two others in front of the two sieging archers, respectively.
Figures, motifs/symbols	- borderlines (2): line borders at the top and bottom - bull: rampant - crescent moons (2) - fish - fortress or city: with crenellated walls, a gate and a walkway outside (possibly a siege ramp) - horse: galloping - human figure: fallen, under the horse, headless - hunter: swordsman, horse rider, wearing broad-belted clothing, has a sheath at his waist - soldier 1: half-kneeling, archer, wearing a belted tunic with a fringed lower edge, has a sword at his waist - soldier 2: standing, archer, wearing a long triple-belted robe with a fringed lower edge, has a sword at his waist - soldier 3: wearing broad-belted clothing, holding a bow and arrow - soldier 4: wearing broad-belted clothing, aiming a bow - star: eight-rayed - wedges (6): cuneiform, five single and one double
Subcategory	cylinder seal
Collection	Musée du Louvre
Museum number	MN 1241 – N 8396 (3352) – CCO K. 7
Condition, shape	A thin, semicircular crack starts from the curved ladder-like element and runs down to the fortress.
Culture	Neo-Assyrian
Provenance	excavated by Victor Place at Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad) in 1852
First occurence	1852
Archaeological context	Dur-Sharrukin (Khorsabad)
Dimensions (mm): height, diameter	h: 40, d: 14
Material and features	"pierre tendre, brune, avec taches verdâtres"
Style	linear
Scene	hunting, warfare
Bibliography	Delaporte 1920, 86–87 no. K. 7 and pl. 57: 2. Delaporte, L.: Musée du Louvre. Catalogue des cylindres. Cachets et pierres gravées de style oriental. I: Fouilles et missions. Paris, 1920.

Object history

The publications mentioning the objects in this database were collected and the objects classified by ZN; data for the present object was input and preliminary description of the object done by GE based on the relevant publication provided, then the data was checked by MNy and the present object descriptions done by HL; object data and description were finalized by ZN. GE – Gábor Erdős, HL – Huba Lőrincz, ZN – Zoltán Niederreiter, MNy – Mónika Nyitrai

Divine World Glyptics

Az i.e. I. évezredi pecséthengerek korpusza

Hunting and warfare scene: Horse-riding swordsman hunting bull – Warfare scene: City under siege [triple scene in two registers]

Műveletek