Early Dynastic III Cylinder seal, ca. 2500-2400 BCE, Carved gray stone, apprx 29 x 15mm. Symmetrically arranged group of four contesting animals is shown here. Two lions with bodies crossing are biting the neck of a rear-up horned animal. The terminal gap is divided into two parts by a double line. Both above and below a lizard is shown. Early Dynastic III, from Sumer or adjacent area. The original artist no doubt intended that the seal's owner's name should be put in the upper part of the terminal, but the owner in fact did not do this, so the lizard fills the area. This seal comes with a museum quality modern impression and is accompanied by a signed typed description by Professor W. G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology, University of Birmingham, UK, 1970 - 1993. From the collection of Juliane and Philip Lynch, Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Condition: Well preserved and a good example of its kind.