Object Description
A beautiful example of a Neo-Babylonian red carnelian oval-shaped intaglio, featuring a flat, unworked reverse. The intaglio has been finely engraved with the depiction of bearded male figure, portrayed wearing a traditional conical cap and standing in profile in front of an altar or podium. The space surrounding the figure has been filled with carved religious and cultic symbols. Although the true identity behind the figure remains a mystery, the figure might be identified as a priest, a worshipper or as the Babylonian and Assyrian god Nabu, patron of writing and wisdom. The intaglio would have been originally intended to be mounted on a ring and used as a seal.
Date: Circa 1st Millennium BC