Persian hero (archer) hunting human-headed winged lion (shedu, sphinx) and wild goat (ibex)
| Kategória | Cylinder Seals |
| Description of the seal image | A half-kneeling, bearded hero (archer), wearing Persian clothing (court robe), aims his bow at a rampant human-headed winged lion (shedu, sphinx), seemingly throwing a spear at him. The archer has a tasselled quiver on his back. Between the two figures is an inverted wild goat (ibex), while behind them is a crescent moon in the sky. It is possible that the spear actually represents an arrow that pierces through the hybrid creature's raised forepaw. |
| Figures, motifs/symbols |
- crescent moon - hero: archer, hunter, half-kneeling, bearded, wearing Persian clothing (court robe), has a tasselled quiver on his back - human-headed winged lion (shedu, sphinx): beardless, rampant, seemingly throwing a spear but more likely pierced by an arrow - wild goat (ibex): inverted, fallen |
| Subcategory | cylinder seal |
| Collection | Buckinghamshire County Museum in Aylesbury; Discover Bucks Museum; formerly kept in the collection of Dr John Lee (1783–1866) |
| Museum number | AYBCM 2003.91.112 |
| Condition, shape | slightly damaged upper and lower edges |
| Culture | Achaemenid |
| Provenance | ex-collection of Dr John Lee (1783–1866) then loaned (and later donated) to Buckinghamshire County Museum along with 19 other Mesopotamian seals in 1918 |
| First occurence | 19th century |
| Dimensions (mm): height, diameter | h: 31.6, d: 14.4 |
| Material and features | "greyish-brown to black limestone ?" |
| Style | linear |
| Scene | hunting |
| Bibliography |
Brett – Collon 2013, 134–135 no. 112. Brett, Th. – Collon, D.: "Dr Lee’s Collection of Cylinder Seals", Iraq 75 (2013) 119–142. |