Steatite. Cylinder seal of a Bull ©

Bull, facing l. head forward. Before, a branch, leaning to the right, behind the bovine.

The use of bulls in early seals of Uruk is often attributed to both the prosperity as pasturage for larger animals was difficult to find in comparison to smaller livestock such as sheep and goats. They were considered to be the largest economic units of the day and often further carried a prestige with the ability to own such livestock.

Doubling early on as a reference to the early Sumerian pantheon; which most possibly stems from the clear link between ownership of these larger animals only being afforded to temples, the subject is often portrayed on material associated with servants to the temple of Uruk.

cf: Moortgat 9, Buchanan, Yale, 177 and Erlenmeyer Sothebys 1992, 1. for similar examples of this type.

This seal has been broken and restored.

A really lovely and rare example from early southern Mesopotamia with powerful imagery!