A Neo-Babylonian bifacial trapezoid amulet made from grey hardstone, featuring two carvings, one on the lateral face of the amulet and the other on the underside. The lateral face of the amulet depicts a rampant lion and an ibex looking backwards, with a staff between them and a crescent finial. The underside of the amulet features a triumphant hero in a pleated gown with one arm raised and the other grasping the horn of a bull. His foot is placed on its rump, and there is a crescent moon above. The amulet was pierced longitudinally for suspension. This piece is supplied with two seperate museum-quality impressions. Seals are often made of stone however there are also examples rendered in bone, ivory, faience, glass, metal, wood, and occasionally 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 or fantasised zoomorphic figural have been found throughout Mesopotamia in contexts dating to the late fourth millennium BC, although stamp seals and cylinder seals are predominant types in the ancient Near East. Measurements: H 2.4cm x W 2.5cm x D 1.9cm Provenance: Ex late SM Collection, London, UK, 1969-1999, thence by descent.