box at the end of the scene, and typically naming the sun god Shamash and his bride
Aya (Figure 7. 10 ); it is frequently replaced by symbols, conventionally referred to as
‘filling motifs’, many of which are new.
During the nineteenth century BC, there was a return to the better-quality Ur III
presentation scene, with a high official, often a scribe, standing before the deified
king in ceremonial robes (not a specific king but a symbol of royalty), who is seated
on a padded stool and holds a cup beneath a crescent moon; the interceding goddess
Lama no longer leads the owner of the seal, but stands, with both hands raised, behind
him. The three-line inscription is in a box at right-angles to the scene, and gives the
name of the owner, his father’s name, his profession and the deity or, very rarely, the
— Dominique Collon —Figure 7. 9 Four winds; small storm god on lion-dragon; small priest; filling motifs. Haematite
and some quartz. 2. 8 × 1. 6. BM ANE 134773 ( 1966 - 2 - 18 , 34 ), possibly from near Borsippa, south
of Baghdad (Collon 1986 , no. 451 ).
Figure 7. 10 Presentation scene before seated goddess. Inscribed ‘Shamash, Aya’.
Goethite. 2. 3 × 1. 55. BM ANE 103331 ( 1911 - 4 - 8 , 21 ) (Collon 1986 , no. 1 ).