A christian hematite seal. The Sacrifice of Isaac.

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

Bezel ...

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.