Cylinder seal
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A cylinder seal is a small round cylinder, typically about one inch in width, engraved with written characters or figurative scenes or both, used in ancient times to roll an impression onto a two-dime
Cylinder-seal of the Uruk period and its impression, c.3100 BC. Louvre Museum.
Cylinder seal of First Dynasty of Ur Queen Puabi, found in her tomb, dated circa 2600 BC, with modern impression. Inscription: 𒅤𒀜 𒎏 - Pu3-abi(AD) Nin - Queen Pu-abi.
Old Babylonian cylinder seal, c.1800 BC, hematite. Linescan camera image (reversed to resemble an impression).
Size comparison of seals, with their impression strips (modern/current impressions)
Carnelian
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Carnelian is a brownish-red mineral commonly used as a semiprecious stone. Similar to carnelian is sard, which is generally harder and darker; the difference is not rigidly defined, and the two names
Carnelian intaglio with a Ptolemaic queen, Hellenistic artwork, Cabinet des MĂ©dailles, BnF Museum, Paris