A finely incised Western Asiatic hematite cylindrical seal. Carved across the surface is a ceremonial presentation scene of two standing supplicants holding their arms up either in a sign of piety or offering something a seated potentate or a diety, with a crescent moon motif above them. The seal is pierced longitudinally for suspension. This seal comes with two professionally baked, modern impression. Seals were often made of stone however there are also examples rendered in bone, ivory, faience, glass, metal, wood, and even sun-dried or baked clay. In the ancient world, seals guaranteed the authenticity of marked ownership – as such, they were instrumental in legal transactions, and in the protection of goods against theft. Seal amulets with stylised animals have been found throughout Mesopotamia in contexts dating to the late fourth millennium BC, although stamp seals and cylinder seals were the predominant types in the ancient Near East. Measurements: Circa L 1.5cm x W 0.7cm Provenance: From Ex. Cotswold collection 1980. Property of a North London, UK, gentleman