Lot 66
Ancient Near East, Achaemenid, ca. early 5th century BCE. A pair of nicely polished domed stamp seals, both carved from chalcedony stone of beautiful translucent blue hues and presenting a conical form with ovoid flat faces that are finely incised with meaningful imagery. One presents a griffin and the other includes three figures, all in profile - including a man wearing a crown, presumably of regal status, with an animal (horse or lion) rearing up on his hind legs before him, and finally a gentleman holding a spear. Both seals are laterally perforated for suspension and come with their stamped impressions. Size: larger stamp measures 1.125" L x .5" W x .75" H (2.9 cm x 1.3 cm x 1.9 cm)
Stemming from the Latin term chalcedonius (chalchedonius), the name chalcedony is mentioned in Pliny the Elder's "Naturalis Historia" as a term for a translucent type of Jaspis. In fact the name most likely derives from the town of Chalcedon in Asia Minor. Chalcedony was used as early as the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean. For example, chalcedony seals dating to ca. 1800 BCE have been recovered from the Palace of Knossos on Minoan Crete. In addition, scholars have found that peoples residing along Central Asian trade routes used chalcedony to create pieces that display Greco-Roman influences like these examples.
Provenance: ex-private Manhattan, New York, USA collection; Art Market, London; Antiquities, Christies, New York, 15 December 1993, lot 66
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#129539
- Condition: Each stamp shows a couple of old smoothed over nicks, perhaps inherent to the stone. Griffin stamp has brown inclusions
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