Ptolemaic Seal-Impressions. 1:3:5:7:8:9:10
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J. H. S. VOL. XXXVI. (1916). PL. IV. PTOLEMAIC SEAL-IMPRESSIONS. 1:3:5:7:8:9:10 || 11:12:13:15:16:17:18 || 19:25:26:28:29:30:36 37 : 38 : 40 : 41 : 43 : 46 : 47 || 51 : 52 : 53 : 54 : 55 : 57 : 59 || 61 : 62 : 63 : 64 : 65 : 67 : 68 69 : 70 : 72 : 76 : 77 : 79 : 82 || 83 : 88 : S9 : 91 : 92 : 93 : 94 II 95 : 96 : 97 : 98 : 99 : 101 : 104 J. H. S. VOL. XXXVI. (1916). PL. V. PTOLEMAIC SEAL-IMPRESSIONS. 106 : 113 : 116 : 118 : 120 : 121 : J22 || 125 : 126 : 134 : 135 : 136 : 138 : 139 || 140 : 142 : 143 : 149 : 151 : 152 : 154 160 : 161 : 162 : 163 : 164 : 165 : 166 || 176 : 182 : 183 : 184 : 185 : 186 : 187 || 188 : 189 : 190 : 191 : 192 : 193 : 194 196 : 197 : 198 : 199 : 200 : 202 : 203 || 204 : 208 : 209 : 210 : 211 : 214 : 215 II 216 : 217 : 218 : 219 :221 : 223 : 224 PTOLEMAIC SEAL IMPRESSIONS. [PLATES IV., V.] THE seal impressions here described were obtained in 1906 by Mr. C. T. Currelly for the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, from a native dealer in Egypt, who stated that they had been found in a large pot at Edfu. This account of their finding is possibly correct. The impressions are on lumps of clay, which have evidently been used for sealing rolls of papyrus : in most cases the back of the clay shows the traces of the papyrus fibres, and nearly all the lumps have longitudinal holes through them, in which calcined remains of papyrus binding can sometimes be discerned. Presumably these impressions are the remains of a collection of rolls similar to those found at Elephantine,1 which were bound round and secured by lumps of clay placed on the binding and sealed with signets: the rolls have been burnt, and thereby the clay was baked and the sealings preserved. As regards the find spot being Edfu, this is to some extent corroborated by the internal evidence of the types, more especially those of the Egyptian class, as will be seen below. There are in' all 330 sealings: of these sixty-eight, showing fifty-six^ different types, bear either hieroglyphic inscriptions or figures of gods or sacred symbols of distinctively Egyptian character. These specimens were described by Miss M. A. Murray in the Zeitschrift fur dgyptische Sprache, xliv. (1907), pp. 62 ff.: the remainder, which are of Greek or Graeco- Egyptian style, are catalogued here. The Egyptian group, though comparatively small, gives valuable evidence with regard to the history of the whole collection. One (No. 11 of Miss Murray's list) bears the cartouches of Ptolemy X. Soter II., and so supplies an approximate date as a starting-point for determining the period of origin. Others (Nos. 2—10) have cartouches of a more unusual character: the names appear to be those of human beings, and therefore should be of kings; but the names are not those of any known kings, and the titles by the cartouches, where legible, are of priests of Isis and 1 See Rubensohn, Elephantine Papyri, pp. in a pot, in the winter of 1905-6: he de- 5 ff. and PL I. Perhaps the find of several scribes it, however, as belonging to the hundred sealings mentioned by Rubensohn in Roman period, which is a difficulty in identi- his note (2) on p. 9 refers to this collection : fication, unless he had not had an opportunity it was reported to him as discovered at Edfu, of examining the sealings. 88 J. G. MILNE Hapi. It seems not impossible that in. the later Ptolemaic period, when the Thebaid was in a state of perpetual unrest, and not infrequently in open rebellion against the central authorities, the heads of some of the . great priestly corporations may have arrogated to themselves the use of the cartouches allowed by custom to gods and kings; and no body would be more likely to do this than the priesthood of Isis at Philae. It need not, however, be argued that the frequency with which mention occurs of priests of Isis; who is definitely described on two sealings (Nos. 21 and 24) as Isis of Abaton and Philae, is a ground for supposing that the whole group beloDgs to Philae rather than to Edfu, since the priests of Philae had extensive interests far down the river, and would be quite likely to be concerned in contracts at Edfu. On the other hand, in support of the reference of the sealings to Edfu, it may be noted that several (Nos. 43—47) show the distinctive hawk-and-harpoon symbol of Edfu; and whereas most other types are represented by a single example each, there are four specimens of 47 and two each of 44, 45, and 46. The nearest parallel to this find is the group of Elephantine papyri already mentioned. The five papyri of Rubensohn's 'Fund I.,' the latest of which is dated in 284-3 B.C., are sealed with lumps of . clay each of which bears several Limpressions; altogether there are thirty-five examples, nearly all from different signets. In ' Fund II.,' dated to 223-2 B.c, there are only three sealings, all single. The other published finds of clay sealings from Egypt have very little in common with this collection : they are the Fayiim examples, probably of the second century A.D., which I described in this Journal in 1906 (pp. 32 ff.), and which seem to have been placed on parcels rather than on papyri, and the Thmuis find of the latter part of the third century A.D., of which an account is given by C. C. Edgar in Annales du Service des Antiquites, viii. pp. 154 ff. In the following list I have grouped the types according to their subjects: the order is—genre (1-14); Greek mythological (15-35); Graeco-Egyptian mythological (36-60); male portraits (61-187); female portraits (188-213) ; grouped portraits (214-224). The sizes of the im- pressions are given in millimetres, and the character of the workmanship of the signets is indicated, so far as possible, by a letter: G. = good, F. = fair, M. = moderate, P. = poor, C. = coarse; but in some cases the impressions are too imperfect or damaged for any definite verdict as to the style of the signets from which they were derived to be reached. A star before a number signifies that the type is not illustrated: the types not so marked will be found arranged in numerical order on the two plates. 1. Horse r. feeding: near foreleg raised. Circular: "Oil. M. *2. Similar. (Convex die.) Circular: "010. F. 3. Dog with forepaw raised and tail in air leaping r. on gazelle fallen r. with head turned back. Circular: 012, C. PTOLEMAIC SEAL IMPRESSIONS 89 *4. Eagle standing 1., wings closed. '018 X '014. M. 5. Similar. 017 x Oil. M. *6. Hawk standing r., wings closed. 018 x 014. M. ? 7. Hawk standing r., with crown of disk and plumes, wavy fillets across field : wings closed. (Convex die.) -010 X 007. F. 8. Owl standing r., head to front, wings closed, on amphora with cover lying r.: below, thunderbolt horizontally. "013 X "011. G. 9. Bee r., wings closed: below, bunch of grapes. "015 x "011. G. ? 10. Griffin seated r., with erect serpent-tail and long wings curled upwards : behind, transversely, cross-headed sceptre. -017 x "012. M. 11. Griffin seated r., with erect tail and short wings curled upwards. 014x011. C. 12. Ear of corn upright, with two leaves at each side. "013 x 010. F. 13. Corinthian helmet r. with (horsehair?) crest and cheek pieces. 014x011. G. •14. Winged thunderbolt. 015x011. G. ? 15. Head of Apollo r., wearing taenia: hair long. "014 x'011. G. 16. Similar: hair in formal curls. "015 X "011. G. 17. Bust of Athene r., wearing crested Corinthian helmet and aegis: hair falling at back of neck. 015x011. M. 18. Similar. 015x011. M. 19. Head of Athene r., wearing crested Corinthian helmet. 014x010. F. *20. Similar. 014x011. P. •21. Similar. Circular: 010. P. •22. Similar. 013 X 009. C. *23. Bust of Athene r., wearing helmet without crest and aegis. 017x013. F. ? •24. Similar. 016 X Oil. M. 25. Bust of Athene to front, wearing crested helmet with snakes' heads round rim, chiton, and aegis: hair falling at sides of neck. 012 x 009. M. 26. Head of Aphrodite (?) r., hair rolled over diadem and knotted at back. Circular: -010. F. *27. Hermes (?) standing to front, wearing chlamys buckled over r. shoulder: r. hand resting on staff, 1. raised (possibly holding some object). " -023 x 021. F. ? 28. Head of Herakles r, bearded, laur. 014 x 010. G. 29. Head of Dionysos r., crowned with ivy: locks of hair falling by neck. 017 x 015. G. ? 30. Similar. 014x011. F. •31. Similar (?) [broken]. -017 x 013. G. ? •32. Bust of Dionysos (?) to front, crowned with ivy (?), wearing chlamys : by 1. shoulder, thyrsos. Circular: "013. M. •33. Two masks of bearded and horned Pan conjoined: lower part formed into a third, youthful, mask. 015 X Oil. F. 90 J. G. MILNE *34. Winged Nike advancing r., wearing long chiton, holding wreath with both hands. -014 X -009. M. ? *35. Similar. 014 x -010. P. ? 36. Bust of Ammon to front, with long horns curling outwards, wearing taenia and disk, himation over 1. shoulder. '014 X "011. F. 37. Sarapis standing 1., wearing himation, r. hand outstretched, 1. resting on sceptre. -015 X -012. M. ? 38. Busts jugate r. of Sarapis, laureate, with small atef-crown (?), and of Isis with diadem and crown of disk and plumes.