A Near Eastern oval stamp seal amulet made from a black hardstone featuring a horned quadruped, possibly an antelope. The animal is depicted in a recumbent pose. The background is decorated with numerous short incisions and a star or sun motif. The image is framed by an incised circle. The piece features a knob on the reverse with a perforation for suspension. Animals occupied a prominent place in ancient art across a number of civilisations and across a variety of media, including painting, pottery, and jewellery. Some animals were venerated, whilst others were sacrificed. Their depiction is thus endowed with significance in several contexts: in religious rituals, as mythical creatures, and as incarnations or symbols of gods and goddesses. Seal amulets with stylised animals or fantasised zoomorphic figural have been found throughout Mesopotamia in contexts dating to the late forth millennium BC, although stamp seals and cylinder seals are predominant types in the ancient Near East. Measurements: L 3cm x W 2.3 cm x H 1.4 cm Provenance: From SM London collection, by descent, 1970-99