Seal ring: bird above a horned animal
Not on view
This is a bronze ring with an intaglio image carved on it. The image shows a seated bird above a horned creature with its head lowered, perhaps grazing. Possibly the image is meant to represent a bird of prey attacking a goat. The image was probably added after the ring was cast.
This ring was excavated at Surkh Dum, a settlement site in Luristan in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran. It was found in a structure interpreted as a sanctuary and was thus probably an offering to a god. In all likelihood the ring was used a seal before being deposited in the sanctuary.
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