Cleveland Museum of Art
Seal with Unicorn 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
- 147417
From the Cleveland Museum of Art record
Indus Valley seals appear to have been hung on a string that passed through a boss on the reverse side. This animal, carved with detailed markings around his neck and forequarters, has his head positioned over an object on a stand that may be interpreted as an altar or brazier or censer; it is not known whether it is for offerings to or sacrifice of the animal. Specialists disagree as to whether single-horned bovines actually lived during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, four thousand years ago.
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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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