圆柱体密封和现代印象：动物战斗和狮身人面像 - 美国大都会艺术博物馆展品查阅

品名（中）	圆柱体密封和现代印象：动物战斗和狮身人面像
品名（英）	Cylinder seal and modern impression: animal combat and sphinx
入馆年号	1966年，66.76.2
策展部门	古代近东艺术（Ancient Near Eastern Art）
创作者
创作年份	公元前 2000 - 公元前 1750
创作地区
分类
尺寸	0.47 英寸 (1.19 厘米)
介绍（中）	尽管早在公元前七千年，雕刻的石头就被用来在粘土上压印印记，但公元前四千年，可以在粘土上滚动的雕刻圆柱体的发明使得印章设计更加复杂。这些最初在美索不达米亚使用的圆筒形印章，作为所有权或身份的标志。印章要么印在用来关闭罐子、门和篮子的粘土块上，要么印在记录商业或法律交易信息的泥板上。这些印章通常由宝石制成。保护性财产可能归因于材料本身和雕刻图案。印章对古代近东艺术的研究很重要，因为每个时期都有许多印章，因此，印章可以帮助确定时间阶段。通常保存的图像不再存在于任何其他媒介中，它们作为风格和图像的视觉编年史展示了印章的现代印象，从而可以看到整个设计。这只海豹展示了一个狩猎场景，一只羚羊在一头狮子的上方奔驰，这头狮子似乎在抚摸它的同伴，而狮子的头则向后仰。在这对眼镜蛇的旁边，一个长着翅膀的狮身人面像站在眼镜蛇上，它的头被抬起，好像要击打一样，在一条扭索链下面。
介绍（英）	Although engraved stones had been used as early as the seventh millennium B.C. to stamp impressions in clay, the invention in the fourth millennium B.C. of carved cylinders that could be rolled over clay allowed the development of more complex seal designs. These cylinder seals, first used in Mesopotamia, served as a mark of ownership or identification. Seals were either impressed on lumps of clay that were used to close jars, doors, and baskets, or they were rolled onto clay tablets that recorded information about commercial or legal transactions. The seals were often made of precious stones. Protective properties may have been ascribed to both the material itself and the carved designs. Seals are important to the study of ancient Near Eastern art because many examples survive from every period and can, therefore, help to define chronological phases. Often preserving imagery no longer extant in any other medium, they serve as a visual chronicle of style and iconography. The modern impression of the seal is shown so that the entire design can be seen. This seal shows a hunting scene with an antelope galloping above a lion that appears to be pawing at its mate, whose head is turned back. Next to this pair, a winged sphinx stands on a cobra, its head lifted as if to strike, below a guilloche chain.