Ancient Near East, The Levant, Proto Elamite, ca. 3000 BCE. A rare and interesting collection of 4 hand carved stone stamp seals. Each is relatively rectangular shaped with a flat face that is etched with linear motifs. The top has a low handle that is hand drilled with a suspension hole. The motifs consist of cross hatched, triangular shapes, straight diagonal bands, and an X within a square border. The stones are hues of mottled brown, green, and creamy white. Size: 1" L x 0.5" W (2.5 cm x 1.3 cm)

From the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative at the University of Oxford: "Proto-Elamite is the last un-deciphered writing system from the Ancient Near East with a substantial number of sources (more than 1600 published texts). It was used for a relatively short period around 3000 BC across what is today Iran. Proto-Elamite is a derived writing system originating from the Uruk invention of writing in southern Mesopotamia during the middle of the 4th millennium BC. Scribes in Susa in southwestern Iran took over a majority of the numerical signs as well as many of the numerical systems from the older proto-cuneiform system."

Provenance: private Dallas, Texas, USA collection

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#153140

Chips and nicks to peripheries on faces and loops. Loops are intact. Some softening to etched details on faces, but discernable.