A KASSITE RED, GREEN AND GREY AGATE CYLINDER SEAL

CIRCA 14TH-13TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A KASSITE RED, GREEN AND GREY AGATE CYLINDER SEAL
CIRCA 14TH-13TH CENTURY B.C.
With the seated figure of a bearded deity wearing horned headdress and long fringed robe, holding long rod in one hand, a standing bearded male worshipper in front, right arm raised in gesture of supplication, with a fine 7 line Sumerian cuneiform royal inscription reading "Enlil, mightly lord, who determines the decrees about heaven and earth, Kadashman-Enlil, the noble you created, be his pleasant trust, may you return to its proper place the spirit of the throne"
1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm.) high

Provenance

Surena collection, London, late 1970s-early 1980s.

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Lot Essay

There were two Kassite kings named Kadashman-Enlil. The first reigned circa 1375-1360 B.C., the second circa 1264-1255 B.C..

Kadashman-Enlil I was a contemporary of Akhenaten and is known to have corresponded with the Egyptian king. Three letters from Kadashman-Enlil I can be found in the Amarna Letters, a group of clay tablets found at Amarna and all written in Akkadian - the diplomatic language of the period.

The inscription on the above seal is extremely fine and rare, naming the King himself. Written in an highly artificial language, the last two lines of the text are difficult to interpret.

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