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Seal with Unicorn and Inscription
c. 2000 BCE
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
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.
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Details
- Title: Seal with Unicorn and Inscription
- Date Created: c. 2000 BCE
- Physical Dimensions: Overall: 3.5 x 3.6 cm (1 3/8 x 1 7/16 in.)
- Provenance: (William H. Wolff [1906–1991], New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art), The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Type: Seals
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1973.161
- Medium: steatite
- Fun Fact: Specialists disagree as to whether single-horned bovines actually lived during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, four thousand years ago.
- Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Culture: Pakistan, Indus Valley civilization
- Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Collection: Indian Art - Indus Valley
- Accession Number: 1973.161
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