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  • 250 A christian hematite seal. The Sacrifice of Isaac. ca. 5th ...

Lot 250 - Auction 107

A christian hematite seal. The Sacrifice of Isaac.
Estimate:
1.500,00/2.000,00 £
Starting price:
900,00 GBP
Price realized:
900,00 GBP
Bids:
1

Bids

Lot status:
Auction closed

Description

A christian hematite seal. The Sacrifice of Isaac.

ca. 5th - 7th century A.D.

Bezel 11 x 14 mm; h. 11 mm.

Abraham stands left, head turned back, holding a knife over Isaac, who lies on an altar; a ram, tied to a tree is behind him; above, the hand of God. Christian from the Sasanian Empire. One of the earliest studies on the subject is Horn, P. and Steindorff, G in: Königliche Museen zu Berlin. Mittheilungen aus dem Orientalischen Sammlungen. vol. IV: Sassanidische Siegelsteine. Berlin, 1891. p. 5, pl. I, no's. 1078 - 1080. (not identified as Sacrifice of Isaac). Judith Lerner, whose Christian Seals in the Sasanian Period. Istanbul, 1977. illustrated a number of gems as a coherent group on pp. 18 - 26, figs. 24 - 35, identified the subject and showed the Christian link. A follow-up was published as: Lerner, J. The Sacrifice of Isaac Revisited: Additional Observations on a Theme in Sasanian Glyptik Art. pp. 39 - 57 in Facts and Artefacts; Art in the Islamic World. Festschrift for Jens Kröger on his 65th Birthday. Leiden/Boston, 2007. Spier, J. Late Antique and Early Christian Gems. Wiesbaden, 2007, no. 803- 829. A very fine example, once in the Content Collection, may be found in: Lerner, J. Considerations on an Aspect of Jewish Culture under the Sasanians: The Matter of Jewish Sigillography. in: JOAS, 129. 4 (2009, p. 664, fig 1. An extensive further bibliography about the type and other closely related subjects may be found in J. Spier's: Late Antique and Early Christian Gems. Wiesbaden, 2007, no's 803 - 833, pp. 145 - 148

Provenance: UK private collection D.C.
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