cf. the North Syrian seal of about 1700-1500 B.C. in H. H. von
der Osten, op. cit. No. 347.
XVII. FORGERIES:
- (D. 1577). Dark serpentine. Much worn cylinder seal. 36 x 13 mm.
At first sight this seal would appear to be genuine. It is very
much worn and
the hole is drilled from both ends. The design, however, is
atrocious and can
scarcely be genuine. It shows a vase resting on a stand between
two strange-looking figures, facing it with
uplifted hands. Behind the head of the figure on the
left is a star, while the body of the one on the right is made
like a head of grain.
The workmanship is very inferior.
- (D. 1578). Sand-colored limestone. Cylinder seal. 23 x 16 mm.
This seal was published by S. A. B. Mercer in N. W. DeWitt,
Ancient His-
tory for High Schools (revised ed., 1932), p. 26, and the
inscription was read as
follows: (1) is-te-an-ba (2) dumu du-su-na (3) tu-du (4) nin
te-mas-su, "Is-
teanba, son of Dusuna, borne by the lady Temassu." The seal,
however, is clearly
a modern forgery. The inscription contains signs that appear
nowhere else and is
unreadable, and it runs in the wrong direction, from bottom to
top instead of from
top to bottom. The seal is very fresh looking, with no sign of
weathering, and its
hole is drilled directly through and not from both ends, as is
the case with genuine
seals. Finally, the design is an impossible one. The divine
standard is unlike any
other that I know and the moon-crescent over the enthroned god is
upside down
and wrongly placed. It should appear under the star in front of
the enthroned
god.
- (D. 1579). Carnelian. Oval ring-setting with a bevelled edge,
flat on both faces.
14 x 12 x 3 mm.
Two long-tailed animals, which may be monkeys, are engaged in a
lively
dance. Five small crosses are added as space fillers. The seal
may be genuine, but
it would seem to be too fresh looking to be ancient and 1 know of
nothing in the
ancient world even faintly resembling its design.
- (D. 1580). Hematite. Cylinder seal. 26 x 12 mm.
This is manifestly a copy of an old Babylonian seal cut with the
wheel. It
shows a divine king dressed like a warrior in a short tunic
standing between a
naked devotee holding her hands to her breasts and a goddess with
right hand
uplifted, wearing a high horned cap and a long pleated robe. The
king carries a
short mace in his right hand and between him and the goddess is a
three-pronged
thunder bolt standing upright on the ground. The inscription is
so badly inscribed
as to be unreadable, but it at least runs in the right direction,
from top to bottom.
- (D. 1581). Serpentine. Circular stamp seal with a rounded edge,
an axial per-
foration, and an intaglio on both slightly convex faces. 24 x 8
mm.
On one face a long-robed worshipper with right hand uplifted
stands before an enthroned deity with left hand
uplifted, wearing a long flounced robe. Above
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