Button Seal

Middle Kingdom

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 109

This round button-shaped seal-amulet was found with a fragment of cord in the horizontal piercing. The device on the underside consists of six spirals radiating from a center point, each interlocking with more spirals. On the back is a cruciform rope pattern with a stylized shape, perhaps a floral element, in each quadrant.

Button Seal, Glazed steatite

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