Middle Babylonian Prayer Agate Cylinder Seal

Culture: Mesopotamia/Middle Babylonian

Period: 1595-1155 B.C.

Material: Agate

Dimensions: 3.1 cm high

Price: 6 000 Euro

Ref: 6689

Provenance: From an old French collection from the mid-20th century. Mentioned in an inventory list from 1999.

Condition: Intact

Description: Important Middle Babylonian (“Kassite period”) prayer cylinder seal in agate, inscribed with six vertical columns of cuneiform. The text is a prayer to the storm god Adad. Its translation reads: “Adad, greatest lord, gatekeeper of heaven and earth, who answers prayers and grants life! Be gracious to the servant who fears you!” To the left of the columns of text, the impression shows a standing male figure wearing a cap, with a long beard, and an almost floor-length Kassite robe with vertical stripes. This is the owner of the seal, likely a priest. He raises one arm in adoration, while in the other hand he holds a whisk used to ritually purify the space before the god. As the god of storm, rain and thunder, Adad was vital to agriculture in Mesopotamia. He was worshipped both as a destructive force (storms) and as a giver of life (fertile rain). The text of the seal is recorded in the “Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative” (CDLI). See for the type, the seal in the Walters Art Museum with the museum number WAM 42.0619, accessible in the CDLI under number P272860. A small label with the old collection number 87 is attached to the upper edge.