
Cleveland Museum of Art
Seal with Two-Horned Bull and Inscription
- Date
- c. 2000 BCE
- Medium
- steatite
- Culture
- Pakistan, Indus Valley civilization
- Department
- Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object ID
- 147416
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
Small stone seals, probably used to identify merchandise or property, are among the most numerous objects discovered from the mysterious proto-historic sites along the banks of the Indus River system. Like these, most have sensitively rendered animal imagery along with an inscription written in a script that has not yet been deciphered. A perforated boss at the back allowed the seal to be suspended and easily pressed.
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Provenance & credit
As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Provenance
- ?–1973: (William H. Wolff [1906–1991], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) | 1973–: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Part of a LinkedCulture topic
Ancient Egyptian Personal ObjectsThese objects are cosmetic implements and grooming tools from ancient Egypt, including mirrors, palettes for grinding pigments, and decorative knives, representing daily life and personal adornment practices.
476 objects from 5 institutions
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