Preview
Creation Date
ca. 2300 BCE
Culture
Akkadian
Medium
Cast resin
Dimensions
1 ⅜ in. (3.5 cm)
Credit Line
Purchased by the Department of Art History, for Summer Scholars research by Ellie Westfall (’27), 2025.
Accession Number
2025.106.7
Provenance
Purchased by Ellie Westfall from Ancient Replicas on July 12, 2025. Ancient Replicas is an Etsy storefront based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania run by Dr. Stephen Meyers, the president of The Institute for Biblical and Scientific Studies.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
The inscription reads “ad-da dub-sar” meaning Adda the scribe.
Description
This is a replica of a cylinder seal called “The Adda Seal”, named after the scribe Adda. The description included in the package says “On the left is a hunting god with his bow and arrow. Left of the mountains is a tree, and Ishtar with wings. Shamash, the sun god, is rising between the mountains holding a serrated knife. On the right side of the mountain is Ea, the water god with water and fish coming from his shoulders. There is an eagle, probably the Zu bird, who stole the tablets of Destiny. Below is a bull. On the far right is Usimu, the two-faced attendant god.”
The original seal is part of the British Museum’s collection, 1891.0509.2553. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/W_1891-0509-2553
Keywords
Department of Art History Collection, Ancient Near East, Before 600 BCE, Cylinder Seal