iron oxide was in eastern Anatolia. Its dark color and shiny surface is consistent with
the subdued aesthetic of the Ur III court. Hematite was used for some of the finest seals
of the Ur III period. In the hands of a skilled craftsman, hematite seals can carry an
extremely finely carved image typical of the finest royal seals (Sax et al. 1993 ). Hematite
remained an important material during the period of the Amorite Old Babylonian
kingdoms. We have texts from later periods that record the meaning and importance
of certain seal stones. Although there are no texts from the third millennium telling
us about the meaning of seals and their material, we know from the myths and royal
hymns of time that deep blue lapis lazuli and red carnelian were closely associated with
the gods.
From the earliest stamp seals, both the standardization of shapes, styles and icono-
graphy and the skill involved in making a seal indicate that both skill and training were
involved in their manufacture (Von Wickede 1990 ). Certainly by the time of the
invention of the cylinder seal in the Late Uruk period, seal cutting was a recognized
specialized profession. The earliest mention of a seal cutter (BUR GULin Sumerian,
purkulluin Akkadian) dates to the ED III period (Porada 1977 : 7 ). Seals of all periods
show a very wide range of ability; some are small-scale masterpieces that must have
taken a huge investment of time and skill while others are highly schematic and could
have been made quickly with mechanical tools (Figure 16. 4 ). While it has been argued
that a small number of poorly cut seals were made by scribes, most of the seal
production would have been organized in workshops (Porada 1977 ). Large cities would
certainly have had more than one workshop. We know nothing about their structure,
whether they specialized in subject matter or materials. By the end of the Akkadian
period, when inscriptions became common, scribes specializing in the cutting of
lapidary inscriptions must have been part of the workshop personnel. Several finds
have been identified as the toolkit of seal cutters or jewelers. At Tell Asmar, Henry
Frankfort reports finding a collection of seal cutter’s tools in a cache in a house of the
Akkadian period (Frankfort 1939 : 5 ).
Technical studies of the carving of seals have revealed interesting information about
the development of lapidary technology (Sax et al. 1994 , 1995 , 1998 ). Files, gouges, and
rotary drills were readily available during the fourth and third millennia BC. While
some seals of this early period appear to be cut by rotating wheels, detailed investi-
gation has shown that in fact the cutting wheel was introduced only in the middle of
the second millennium (Sax and Meeks
1994 ). The range of forms that make up
the seal images extend from gouged lines
and drilled forms that are unmitigated by
any kind of finishing (Figure 16. 5 ) to
highly modeled forms that exhibit tremen-
dous interest in naturalism and realistic
detail (Figure 16. 6 ). Style is as important
a feature of glyptic art as iconography,
making it necessary to discuss both in any
characterization of a regional or period
glyptic art.
–– Seals and sealings in the Sumerian world ––Figure 16.4Modern impression of a highly
schematic seal showing an animal and a star.
Early Dynastic I period (Fara. CBS 19861.
Legrain 1925 : 29. Courtesy of
Richard L. Zettler, Associate
Curator-in-Charge, Near East Section,
University of Pennsylvania Museum of
Archaeology and Anthropology)