Harvard Art Museums > 1986.563: Scaraboid Stamp Seal: Horseman Attacking Foot-soldier with Spear Seals Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Scaraboid Stamp Seal: Horseman Attacking Foot-soldier with Spear , 1986.563,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Apr 23, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/289089. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1986.563 Title Scaraboid Stamp Seal: Horseman Attacking Foot-soldier with Spear Classification Seals Work Type seal Date 450-300 BCE Period Classical period Culture Achaemenid Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/289089 Physical Descriptions Medium Veined gray chalcedony Technique Intaglio Dimensions 1.8 x 2.1 x 0.8 cm (11/16 x 13/16 x 5/16 in.) Provenance Recorded Ownership History Damon Mezzacappa, gift; to the Harvard Art Museum, 1986. Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Damon Mezzacappa Accession Year 1986 Object Number 1986.563 Division Asian and Mediterranean Art Contact am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu Permissions The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request. Descriptions Description This chalcedony scaraboid stamp seal features an image of a mounted warrior attacking a foot soldier. The horse has a lumpy body, wispy legs, and a large head. There is no groundline in the scene, and it is difficult to say whether the horse is leaping or galloping. The rider wears baggy trousers and a pointed cap. In his upraised hand he holds a spear. The foot soldier stands in front of the horse with his front leg bent as if running or leaping. He holds a round shield in one hand, and a spear in the other. The rider’s pointed cap indicates that he is an Achaemenid Persian cavalryman; the round shield carried by the foot soldier is that of a Greek hoplite soldier. A similar scene occurs among the bullae excavated at Daskyleion, near modern Badirma in northwestern Turkey (1). It also appears on other stamp seals, notably one recovered from a tomb in Bolsena, Italy (2). Another stamp seal, said to be from Ephesus in Asia Minor, has similar imagery, with the addition of a corpse beneath the rider (3). These seals were most likely made in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, where there was a tradition of representing combat between Persians and non-Persians in private art, in a variety of media (4). NOTES 1. D. Kaptan, The Daskyleion Bullae: Seal Images from the Western Achaemenid Empire (Leiden, 2002) no. 86. 2. J. Boardman, Greek Gems and Finger Rings: Early Bronze Age to Late Classical (London, 1970) no. 881. 3. Boardman, Greek Gems, no. 974. 4. X. Wu, “‘Oh Young Man…Make Known What Kind You Are:’ Warfare, History, and Elite Ideology of the Achaemenid Persian Empire,” Iranica Antiqua 49 (2014) 209-99. Verification Level This record was created from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator; it may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
