Hero grasping human-headed winged lion (lamassu, sphinx) and ostrich
| Kategória | Cylinder Seals |
| Description of the seal image | A bearded hero grasps the foreleg of a rampant human-headed winged lion (lamassu, sphinx) with one hand and the neck of an ostrich with the other. He wears a long, broad-belted, open robe over a short, fringed tunic. The upper part of the garment is decorated with a net or crosshatch pattern. Behind his legs is the stylus of Nabu on a stand, and a crescent moon appears above in the sky. Between the legs of the ostrich is a large rhomb. Behind the hero's opponents are the Sibitti (Pleiades) and an eight-rayed star in the sky. |
| Figures, motifs/symbols |
- bird: ostrich, head turned backwards, kicking towards the hero - crescent moon - hero: bearded, wearing a long, broad-belted, open robe over a short, fringed tunic; the upper part of the garment is decorated with a net or crosshatch pattern - human-headed winged lion (lamassu, sphinx): rampant, beardless - rhomb - Sibitti (Pleiades) - star: eight-rayed, globe-centred - stylus of Nabu: on a stand |
| Subcategory | cylinder seal |
| Collection | N/A, formerly kept in the collection of Hans Silvius von Aulock |
| Condition, shape | slightly chipped upper and lower edges |
| Culture | Assyro-Babylonian |
| Provenance | ex-Aulock Collection, then surfaced at Christie's (New York) 13–06–2000, 163 lot 547 |
| First occurence | 1957 |
| Dimensions (mm): height, diameter | h: 48.5, d: 18, slightly barrel-shaped |
| Material and features | "verfärbter und gesprungener Achat" |
| Style | modelled |
| Scene | contest |
| Bibliography |
von der Osten 1957, 119–120 no. 323. von der Osten, H.H.: Altorientalische Siegelsteine der Sammlung Hans Silvius von Aulock. (Studia Ethnographica Upsaliensia 13) Uppsala, 1957. Christie's (New York) 13–06–2000, 163 lot 547. Christie's (New York) 13–06–2000, Antiquities (sale PAZUZU-9380). |