ISSN 0989-5671 2020 N° 2 (juin) NOTES BRÈVES 38) A Cylinder Seal with a Spread-Wing Eagle and Two Ruminants from Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum — This study shares the (re)discovery of a cylinder seal (AR 12517) housed at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex.1) The analysis of the seal offers two contributions: First, the study offers a rare record of the business transaction of a cylinder seal by the famous orientalist Edgar J. Banks. Second, the study adds an exceptional and well-preserved example of a cylinder seal engraved with the motif of a spread-wing eagle and two ruminants to the corpus of ancient Near Eastern seals. The study of this motif reveals that the seal published here offers one of the very few examples of a single-register seal which features a spread-wing eagle flanked by a standing caprid and stag. Acquisition History The museum purchased the cylinder seal for $8 from Edgar J. Banks on April 1st, 1937. Various records indicate that Banks traveled to Texas occasionally for speaking engagements and even sold cuneiform tablets to several institutions and individuals in Texas.2) While Banks sold tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets throughout the U.S., this study adds to the comparably modest number of cylinder seals sold by Banks.3) Although Banks’ original letter no longer remains, the acquisition record transcribes Banks’ words as follow: (Seal cylinders) were used for two distinct purposes. First, they were used to roll over the soft clay of the Babylonian contract tablets after they were inscribed, to legalize the contract and to make it impossible to forge or change the contract. Secondly, they were used as charms and were worn about the neck to keep off disease and evil.4) A separate note which follows this transcription identifies the seal’s origin from northern Babylonia and dates the artifact to the period of Nebuchadnezzar (605–562 B.C.). Although the record does not explicitly credit these observations to Banks, because his letter customarily described an artifact’s basic content, purpose, date, and provenance, the proposed date and place of origin likely reflect Banks’ initial assessment of the seal.5) A careful analysis of the seal’s artistic motif, however, suggests that the seal originated from a much earlier date. – 87 – N.A.B.U. 2020 nᵒ 2 (juin) Description of the Seal6) The seal’s impression comprises of a row of animals, including a caprid, an eagle, and a cervid. A left facing, spread-wing eagle occupies the central position. The engraver depicts the animals in a simple stylized manner, by representing the eagle’s head with a triangle, a net design marking the body, vertical strokes illustrating the tail feathers, and two palm-branch like wings extending outward from the body.7) Two different quadrupeds stand beside the eagle. To the left of Fig. 1. Provenance: Unknown the eagle, a caprid with long curled horns (goat or ibex?) stands in a left Material: Black stone. Dimensions: oriented profile. A stag with branching antlers stands to the right of the Height: 1.9 cm. Diameter: 1.1 cm. eagle with its face turning left to gaze back at the eagle. The glyptic art’s composition with a central spread-wing eagle flanked by two quadrupeds, achieves a sense of balance, with the attention drawn to the central figure. Unfortunately, due to the lack of provenance, when and where this object originated remains unknown. A comparison of the seal’s iconography with the corpus of ancient Near Eastern glyptic, however, narrows down the seal’s possible date and origin. Comparison The Mayborn Museum’s cylinder seal’s artistic typology belongs to the group of ancient Near Eastern seals which feature a heraldic eagle accompanied by various creatures. This combination of a spread-wing eagle with other animals appears as early as Uruk IV (Van Buren 1935-36, 58) and continues through the Post Akkadian period (Buchanan 1981, figs. 482–91; Keel-Leu & Teissier 2000, figs. 88–89), but this motif reaches the height of its popularity during the Early Dynastic III period. The motif also enjoyed widespread geographic distribution, appearing from sites such as Tell Brak, Syria (Matthews 1997 pl. 20.224, 227, 228; pl. 21.232–234; pl. 23.278–280), unearthed from the excavation at Ur (Legrain 1936, pl. 2.37, pl. 3.38, pl. 10.207, 209–214, pl. 11.215–219, 223; Legrain 1951, pl. 8.97, 111–114, 120, pl. 9.125), discovered at the Elamite city of Susa (Roach 2008, figs. 1050, 2059, 2064, 2065, 2067, 2071, 2072, 2166), and even attested on a seal which reflects Cypriot influence (Porada 1948, fig. 24). The motif can either appear as the sole decoration, but when it is part of a two-register seal, various scenes (i.e., a row of animals, banquet, or contest) appear in the accompanying register. Within this corpus, the eagle either clutches the adjacent animals with its talons or simply appears stationed (at times elevated in the air) between the two animals. The most common animals that accompany the eagle include goats, ibex, antelope, mouflon, and deer, but on rare occasions can include bull, lion, and serpent. These accompanying creatures appear either kneeling, standing, or overturned. Fig. 2. This photo is an enhanced version Fig. 3. Line drawing by the author based on of Delaporte 1920, pl. 21.W10 (S 193). the photograph from Frankfort 1955, pl. 39.420. Fig. 4. Line drawing by the author based on the photograph from Roach 2008, fig. 2065. – 88 – N.A.B.U. 2020 nᵒ 2 (juin) The combination of a heraldic eagle, a left facing, erect caprid, and a backward glancing deer is uncommon and appears primarily on two-register seals from Tell Brak, Syria. One notable example was discovered during an excavation of the palace of Naram-Sin and dates to the UR III period (Mallowan 1947 pl. 22.14; Matthews 1997, pl. 21.232; Wiseman 1962, pl. 29e; For two other seals, see Matthews et al. 1994, pl.13.12; Matthews 1997, pl. 21.233). The closest artistic parallel to our seal, however, comes from an Elamite cylinder seal from Susa (fig. 2). Like our seal, this Elamite seal portrays the eagle as comprising a head, body, and tail feathers –albeit the head is largely missing due to the damage to the seal– and flanks the eagle with a goat to its left and a stag to its right. The primary difference lies in the addition of a serpent that bites and hangs from the stag’s neck. Louis Delaporte dates this seal to the Early Dynastic period (Delaporte 1920, 21). Two additional seals also portray a central spread-wing eagle surrounded by two quadrupeds (figs. 3 & 4) but differs from our seal in two ways: First, the engraver omits the eagle’s torso and incises elongated tail feathers with diagonal lines that form a triangular shape. Second, the artisan chose to portray two goats next to the eagle, rather than depicting a stag on the right. The example from Khafajah, Iraq (fig. 3) comes from the surface layer during an archaeological excavation and the excavators date the seal to the Early Dynastic III period based on its artistic style (Frankfort 1955, pl. 39, n. 420). Similarly, K. Roach dates the Elamite seal from Susa (fig. 4) to the Susa IV period, which chronologically and stylistically parallels seals from the Mesopotamian Early Dynastic period (Roach 2008, 399). These closest analogues, therefore, securely date the Mayborn Museum’s cylinder seal to the Early Dynastic period. The scene comprising a heraldic eagle with two ruminants also appears on seals with two-registers. Fitzwilliam Museum’s cylinder seal depicts two spread-wing eagles grasping the horn and rear of two kneeling goats on its top register, while the lower register features a contest between a lion and gazelle with a six-pointed star in the background (Munn-Rankin 1959 pl. 4.E24). Munn-Rankin dates the seal to the transitional Early Dynastic III-Sargonid period based on the seal’s iconography (Munn-Rankin 1959, 21). Another seal unearthed from a grave at Khafajah portrays a file of goats on its bottom register, whereas its top register contains a spread-wing eagle that grasps the hind of two kneeling antelopes that is accompanied by a scorpion (Frankfort 1955, pl. 36.371). The archaeological context and glyptic style both indicate an Early Dynastic III date for this object. These seals bolster that the scene featuring a spread-wing eagle contesting two ruminants attained popularity during the Early Dynastic III period, albeit, these two-register seals differ from our example in clearly depicting the eagle’s legs grasping its prey and portraying both caprids in a kneeling posture with turned heads. Conclusion This article presents an analysis of a previous unpublished cylinder seal and provides an additional example of Edgar J. Banks’ business correspondence. Although the seal was originally dated to the Neo-Babylonian period –likely by Banks– the comparative study of the seal’s motif of a spread-wing eagle flanked by a caprid and a stag indicates that the seal dates to the Early Dynastic period (likely to be Early Dynastic III). If Banks accurately describes the seal’s provenance as “northern Babylonia,” the close parallel from Khafajah, as well as the concentration of seals which feature an eagle, stag, and goat from Tell Brak may suggest that our seal also originates from an area near or north of Baghdad. Where exactly the seal originated from, however, cannot be conclusively determined, due to the widespread popularity of the seals featuring a heraldic eagle between two quadrupeds which ranges from Syria to Elam.