Cylinder Seal with Winged Genius and Human-headed Bulls
Assyria (Iraq)Neo-Assyrian period (c. 1000–612 B.C.)c. 700 B.C.
Blue ChalcedonyH. 1 9/16 in. (4 cm);
Diam. 7/8 in. (2.2 cm)AP 2001.04
This seal shows an Assyrian winged genius between rampant, winged, human-headed bulls. All wear the horned headdress of deities and supernatural beings, and have long curled hair and beards. These semi-divine beings frequently appear on bas-reliefs (like those in the Kimbell's collection), and elsewhere in Assyrian art, especially in connection with the king. A deer is shown at a smaller scale in the space below the inscription. This text, in Assyrian cuneiform states: "Belonging to Nabu-apla-iddin, son of Bel-shuma-ibni . . . "
Private collection, Syria. Private collection, Lebanon, acquired between 1962 and 1968; (art dealer, New Jersey) by 1981; (Ward & Company Fine Art, Inc., New York), by 2001; purchased by Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, 2001.