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Home ▸ Catalog ▸ |Antiquities| ▸ |Antiquities by Type| ▸ |Seals||View Options:   | | | Both the objects used to make impressions and the impressions themselves are referred to as seals. Seal impressions served as a signature of the owner of the seal. Seals used to make impressions include cylinder seals and stamp seals. Often these seals are holed for stringing and some were probably never used to make impressions, but were rather worn as amulets. The most common form of seal impression is the bulla. A bulla (plural, bullae), is a lump of clay or lead molded around a cord and stamped with a seal that identifies the sender. With a bulla in place a container cannot be violated without visible damage to either the bulla or the cord, thereby ensuring the contents remain tamper-proof until they reach their destination. |
When the Romans sent important small packages by courier, such as documents or valuables, they were were placed in strong leather or cloth bags, which were sealed with a stout cord, the knot covered in wax and impressed with the sender's signet. To protect the wax seal, it and the knot were encased in a small, ornamental metal box with an hinged lid and two holes in the back for the cord. In addition, the lid could be kept closed by further cords sewn to the package and tied around it. Hinged boxes used for this purpose have been found in Britain, where they tend to date to the 2nd and 3rd centuries and are mostly of enameled bronze. However, they certainly started earlier. Hattatt illustrated an example found in Ostia bearing the portraits of Hadrian and Sabina (p. 464, 151) and seal boxes with portraits of Vespasian and Domitian have been found in London and must have been used by high officials (P. Salway, A History of Roman Britain [Oxford 2001], p. 381). This was certainly the case with this piece, especially given its splendid portrait of Titus, which was surely made by workers in the imperial mint in Rome and then sent out for official use in the provinces. See Roman| Seal| Boxes| by Colin| Andrews| - https://www.ukdfd.co.uk/pages/roman-seal-boxes.html for more information, as well as other examples of the type.AS75699. cf. Hattatt ABOA, pp. 461 ff. (for general type); Nomos I 144 (cover only, head right), nice green patina, hing broken, Piriform-shaped bronze box with hinged cover, decorated with laureate head of Titus left, done in repoussé work; base perforated with three holes; 3.51g, 24mm x 17mm, 9mm (depth); ex Triton XIII (5-6 Jan 2010), lot 314; very rare; SOLD
South Arabian, Sabaean Hematite Seal, c. 1000 B.C.
AA31273. Sabaean hematite seal, 1.2 cm (1/2") long, horse rampant before seated God on X stool, drill and line cut design, the design and shape are most unusual; rare; SOLD
Roman Syria-Palestina, Jewish, Lead Bulla Seal, 7 Branched Menorah, c. 5th - 6th Century A.D.
A bulla (plural, bullae) is a lump of clay or lead molded around a cord and stamped with a seal that identifies the sender. With a bulla in place, a container cannot be violated without visible damage to either the bulla or the cord, revealing the tampering. Bullae depicting a menorah are known but very rare and not well documented. Dattari-Savio p. 327, 3 is a 1901 rubbing of a very similar menorah sealing. Michael Still lists two menorah sealings in his thesis on Roman seals, 1696 with a Latin inscription reverse, 1765 with a Hebrew inscription reverse. The recently published catalogue of the Vossen collection by Gert Boersema and Bill Dalzell, has two Menorah seals, numbers 181 and 182, both with blank reverses. There are also a few examples known from auctions. A FORVM member posted a bulla of this exact type from his collection on the Classical Numismatic Discussion on the Forum Ancient Coins website. We received three examples of this type on consignment, all with the same fire damage, suggesting they were found together.JD98655. Lead bulla (tag seal), VF, chip on reverse, light earthen deposits, raised bumps from exposure to an ancient fire that heated and expanded air bubbles within the lead, weight 4.679 g, maximum diameter 15.9 mm, c. 5th - 6th century A.D.; obverse seven branched menorah with tripod base; reverse lulav, uncertain Syriac inscription; very rare; SOLD
Southern Mesopotamia, Cylinder Seal, Jemdet Nasr Period, c. 3200 - 2900 B.C.
Very early cylinder seal from the dawn of writing. The earliest cylinder seals, such as this one, are from the Jemdet Nasr Period in Mesopotamia.AS48859. Cylinder seal; Malloy Artifacts 394 (this seal), cf. Buchanan 203, Superb, fine quality seal, clear calcite cylinder seal, linear opposing triangles indicating mountains and valleys; 17 mm long; from Alex G. Malloy sale 5/99, #1326; SOLD
Elam, Cylinder Seal, Middle Ellamite Period, c. 1600 - 1200 B.C.
AS35627. Cylinder seal; black serpentine; animals and birds with appearance of movement in two levels; 20 mm X 9.5 mm, Superb, SOLD
Egyptian, Late Period, Carved Steatite Plaque Amulet, 664 - 332 B.C.
AS31141. Egyptian steatite plaque amulet; Petrie Amulets -, Choice, 664 - 332 B.C.; 2.2 cm (7/8") by 1.7 cm (5/8"), holed for suspension; SOLD
Egyptian, Hyksos Period, Carved Steatite Seal Amulet, 1786 - 1567 B.C.
An attractive piece in the archetypal style of the Hyksos period.
In Egypt, few seals were actually used to make impressions and seal documents. Although they are almost always holed for stringing, an absence of wear on them shows that they were not usually carried during life, but were engraved to place as amulets with the dead. AS31142. Hyksos amulet; Petrie Amulets -, Choice, 3 cm (1 1/8") by 2 cm (3/4"), holed for stringing; a few small edge chips; SOLD
Neo-Assyrian Faience Cylinder Seal, 900 - 700 B.C.
AS31153. 2.6 cm (1") high, Choice, green faience, hero shooting arrow at serpent; SOLD
Byzantine Lead Bulla Seal, Soterichos, Patrikios and Strategos of Thrace, 10th Century A.D.
SH60400. Lead seal, cf. Jordanov-Zhekova Shuman 297, Zacos BLS -, Zacos -, Metcalf Seals -, DOCBS -, VF, undersized leaving some elements off flan, weight 15.156 g, maximum diameter 29.8 mm, die axis 90o, obverse ΘΕOTOKΕ BOΗΘΕI in cruciform monogram, TW - CW/ ΔOV- ΛW in the angles (God-bearer [the Virgin], help your servant); reverse [CWTΗ]/PIXW ΠAT[PI]/K' KAI CTPA/TΗΓW... / ΘPAKΗ (or similar); SOLD
Babylonian Cuneiform Inscribed Clay Bulla, Old Babylonian Period, c. 2000 - 1600 B.C.
Bullae, such as this one, were attached by a cord to a basket of tablets, a container, an object or an animal. This bulla appears to name three individuals and lists five cattle; there is also a seal impression. It may have sealed a container which held tablets that also identified the owners, senders (taxpayers?) or intended recipients of the cattle.AA30981. length 3.0 cm (1 1/8"), black clay bulla; SOLD
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