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Mesilim period (named after King Mesilim of Kish) : Mesilim cylinder seals and impressions, 4th-3rd millennium BC

Date

Authors

Strommenger, Eva
Photographer: Arthur Llewellyn Basham

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Abstract

Description

Top : Marble (shell?) seal, 3.4 cm high (Berlin)
bull-man holding bulls, left-hand one attacked by a lion which typically intercrosses another
a naked hero is fighting with the latter
two secondary scenes at side - hero fighting lion (above), lion, goat and plants (below). Second row : Fara, white marble, 3 cm high (Berlin)
a bull-man, whose body ends in the hindparts of 2 lions, a ligature typical of Masilim period. Bside him a man lifts two goats by their hindlegs, the one on left attacked by a lion. Third row : Petrified shell, 3 cm high, Pierpont Morgan Library
ligature similar to above
lower parts of lions overlap
their tails, which the curly-headed "hero" holds up in his hands, end in snakes' heads. Bottom row : Aragonite, 4.2 cm high
to the right, a bull-man holding 2 lions
in middle, a bearded hero seizing 2 bulls
his curls are stylised to a spoon-like struggling with a lion
a goat, the head of a goat and eagles are scattered in between them.

Citation

Source

Type

Archives Series

Date created

1964

Access Statement

License Rights

This image is provided for research purposes only and must not be reproduced without the prior permission of the Archives Program, Australian National University.

DOI

Restricted until

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