Object Description
A fine Achaemenid agate stamp seal carved in the shape of a pyramid, typically used during the Achaemenid period. The base of the seal is engraved with a stylised impression of a religious scene, where a bearded worshipper is approaching an altar. The stamp features an attractive brown colour contrasting against the stone’s natural white pigment, the stamp seal is pierced at the top for suspension. The Achaemenid Empire rose from a strong military and political background which differed to the traditional Mesopotamian kingdoms. Instead of destroying all the astonishing achievements in art created by Mesopotamian ancestors, the Achaemenid Empire preserve and inherit the traditional practices of Mesopotamian glyptic arts. They also adapted multiple Babylonian religious motifs to their own aesthetic tastes. Most Achaemenid stamp seals have no obvious differences from Neo-Babylonian features in either external appearances or depicted motifs. The pyramid shape and the religious scenes which feature a male worshipper standing in front of an altar, much like this seal, indicate a direct aesthetic inheritance from the Neo-Babylonian period.
Date: Circa 550-330 BC
Period: Achaemenid Empire