This gold cap is part of a group of gold jewelry elements and cylinder seals found buried together at the ancient city of Dilbat, a site south of Babylon (47.1a-h). The cap and two others like it from the so-called “Dilbat hoard” (41.1j, 41.1k) are decorated with triangles of gold granulation. Originally, this cap would have been one of a pair that encased a cylinder seal. (The seals found in the hoard do not fit the caps.) A hole at the top of the cap suggests that the cap and its cylinder were meant to be strung and worn by the individual owner, but probably not as part of a composite ensemble represented by the hoard, which includes pendants and beads made in a range of styles and gold alloys, and executed with varying levels of craftsmanship.
Although it is rare for a cylinder to be preserved with its caps, impressions of cylinder seals showing borders of triangles indicate that the use of caps like this one became particularly popular during the Kassite period (ca. 1595-1155 B.C.). The combination of gold caps with brightly colored and highly polished cylinder seal stones would have created an appealing item of jewelry and emphasized the magical powers of the stone, which could act as a protective amulet for the wearer.
This image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
47.1j, 47.1k, 47.1l
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Cylinder seal cap
Period:late Old Babylonian–early Kassite
Date:ca. 17th–16th century BCE
Geography:Mesopotamia, said to be from Dilbat
Culture:Babylonian or Kassite
Medium:Gold
Dimensions:H: 1.2 cm D: 1.2 cm
Credit Line:Fletcher Fund, 1947
Object Number:47.1l
Ca. 1911, known and possibly purchased by Ernst Herzfeld, near Tell al-Deylam (ancient Dilbat); by 1914, collection of Frida and/or Georg Hahn, Berlin, who most probably acquired it from Ernst Herzfeld; 1939, left on deposit at the British Museum by the Hahn family; acquired by the Museum in 1947, purchased from Charlotte Weidler, New York, on behalf of Georg Hahn.
“Gold.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, April 14, 1973–September 9, 1973.
“Mit Sieben Siegeln Versehen: das Siegel in Wirtschaft und Kunst des Alten Orients.” Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Vorderasiatisches Museum, May 30, 1997–September 28, 1997.
“Babylone: à Babylone d’hier et d’aujourdhui.” Musée du Louvre, Paris, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Pergamon Museum, The British Museum, London, March 14, 2008–March 15, 2009.
Meissner, Bruno. 1914. Grundzüge der altabylonischen Plastik. Der Alte Orient 15, Leipzig: J.C. Hinrichs, pp. 63-64, fig. 115.
Meissner, Bruno. 1920. Babylonien und Assyrien I. Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 271, fig. 147.
von Bissing, Wilhelm. 1927. "Die Funde in den Tempeln von Byblos und ihre zeitlich Bestimmung." Archiv für Orientforschung 4, p. 66.
Unger, Eckhard. 1929. "Die Offenbarung der Gottheit durch den Windhauch," Forschungen und Fortschritte 5, pp. 270-271.
Unger, Eckhard. 1930. "Das Kunstgewerbe des Alten Orients," In Geschichte des Kunstgewerbes aller Zeiten und Völker. In Verbindung mit zahlreichen Fachgelehrten, edited by H.Th. Bossert. Berlin: Ernst Wasmuth, pp. 355-357.
Unger, Eckhard. 1931. "Topographie der Stadt Dilbat," Archiv Orientálni 3, pp. 24-25, pls. I-II.
Herzfeld, Ernst. 1941. Iran in the Ancient East. London, New York: Oxford university press, p. 145.
Van Buren, E. Douglas. 1945. “Symbols of the Gods in Mesopotamian Art.” Analecta Orientalia 23. Rome: Pontificum Institutum Biblicum, pp. 63, 73, 89.
Wilkinson, Charles K. 1949. "The Art of the Ancient Near East," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 7, (March 1949), pp. 186-198.
Wiseman, Donald J. 1960. "The Goddess Lama at Ur," Iraq 22, pl. XXIII f,g,h.
Maxwell-Hyslop, K.R. 1971. Western Asiatic Jewelry, c.3000-612 B.C. London: Meuthen Young Books, pp. 88,145, fig. 61-65c.
Boehmer, Rainer Michael. 1972. Die Kleinfunde von Bogazkoy aus den Grabungskampagnen 1931-1939 und 1952-1969. Berlin: Mann, pp. 25- 26, fig. 13d, e.
Orthmann, Winfried. 1975. "Babylonisch-Assyrisches Kunsthandwerk," Der Alte Orient 14. Berlin: Propyläen Verlag. pp. 327, 330, pl. 253a.
Liebling, Roslyn. 1978. Time Line of Culture in the Nile Valley and its Relationship to Other World Cultures. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Oates, Joan. 1979. Babylon. London: Thames and Hudson, fig. 31, p. 53.
Wolters, Jochem. 1981. "A Short History of the Art of Granulation -- II: Types and Styles," AURUM 87 (Quarterly for Jewelry Manufacturers published by International Gold Corp. Ltd), pp. 6-13, fig. 1.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1983. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide, edited by Kathleen Howard. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, p. 54, fig. 22.
Harper, Prudence O. et al. 1984. "Ancient Near Eastern Art." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 41 (4), Spring 1984, p. 20, fig. 19.
Pittman, Holly, in collaboration with Joan Aruz. 1987. Ancient Art in Miniature: Near Eastern Seals from the Collection of Martin and Sarah Cherkasky. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 30-31, fig. 17.
Invernizzi, Antonio. 1992. Dal Tigri All'Eufrate II: Bibilonesi e Assiri. Florence: Le Lettere, p. 87, fig. 139.
Lilyquist, Christine. 1994. "The Dilbat Hoard," Metropolitan Museum Journal 29, pp. 5-36.
Kawami, Trudy. 1996. "Melammu and Puluhtu: The Aesthetic, Religious and Political Significance of the Ancient Near Eastern Shamshatu Medallion." Jewelry 1, pp. 79-91.
Klengel-Brandt, Evelyn. 1997. Mit Sieben Siegeln versehen: das Siegel in Wirtschaft und Kunst des Alten Orients, exh. cat. Berlin: Vorderasiatisches Museum, p. VX, no. 9.
Huot, Jean-Louis. 2003. American University of Beirut Archaeological Museum Newsletter 17, p. 17.
André-Salvini, Béatrice. 2008. Babylone: à Babylone d'Hier et d'Aujourd'hui. exh. cat. Paris: Musée du Louvre, p. 82, no. 39.
Marzahn, Joachim. 2008. Babylon: Mythos und Wahrheit. exh. cat. Berlin: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, p. 315.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
Includes more than 7,000 works ranging in date from the eighth millennium B.C. through the centuries just beyond the time of the Arab conquests of the seventh century A.D.
