Early Dynastic Sumerian Marble Cylinder Seal with Banquet Scene

Culture: Sumerian

Period: Early Dynastic Period III, 2600-2350 B.C.

Material: Marble

Dimensions: 2.2 cm high

Price: Sold

Ref: 6700

Provenance: From the Austrian collection Danho Abdul Massich, acquired in 1978 and since then in Austria.

Condition: Intact

Description: Sumerian marble cylinder seal from the Early Dynastic period depicting a banquet scene. Two bird-faced figures, dressed in long garments, sit facing one another on high chairs with cross-shaped struts. Between them stands a cylindrical vessel from which large drinking straws project at the sides. Behind one of the seated figures stands a further person, perhaps a servant at the banquet. The composition is framed at the side by a floral plant motif. For a banquet scene with a similar vessel and drinking straws, see the cylinder seal in the Metropolitan Museum of Art with the object number 56.157.1.