Gold cylinder mounting

Unknown

ca. 1600–1200 BCE · Gold · Greek and Roman Art

The gold mount would have held a cylinder seal, an object used to make marks in clay or wax, first invented in Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium B.C. Imported cylinder seals begin to appear on Cyprus in the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 1900–1600 B.C.), but the Cypriots did not start making their own cylinder seals until the Late Bronze Age.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1600–1200 BCE

Medium

Gold

Culture

Cypriot

Department

Greek and Roman Art

Credit line

The Cesnola Collection, Purchased by subscription, 1874–76