Stamp seal and modern impression: geometric pattern

Unknown

ca. 5600–5000 BCE · Steatite or chlorite · Ancient Near Eastern Art

Mesopotamian pendants of the Halaf period are usually of simple, mostly geometric forms. However, this stamp seal appears to represent a hedgehog, an animal that was native to northern Mesopotamia. The stamping surface is decorated with two superimposed grid patterns and a chevron pattern with a central line under the animal's head. Hedgehogs continued to be represented in Mesopotamia for millennia but the animal's symbolic or mythological significance is unknown.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 5600–5000 BCE

Medium

Steatite or chlorite

Culture

Halaf

Department

Ancient Near Eastern Art

Credit line

Gift of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky, 1986