First Impressions: Cylinder Seals in the Ancient Near East
by Dominique Collon
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Attractive and intelligible to a general audience, this book serves as a perfect introduction, a comprehensive resource, and a remarkable summary of the available information on a rich and complex subject.
In First Impressions, Dominique Collon, a leading authority on the subject, traces the history and development of cylinder seals and their role in ancient society. Although the seals have always fascinated a few enthusiasts, their designs are very small and they have been considered a highly specialized subject. Seals have survived, when wall-paintings and stone reliefs have crumbled, to illustrate three thousand years of culture over a vast geographical area.
As it’s name implies, a cylinder seal is a small cylinder, generally made of stone, round which a design in intaglio has been carved. When the cylinder is rolled on clay, it leaves a continuous impression of the design in reverse. For the most part the seals are perforated, so they could be worn on a string or pin, but they vary in shape, size, type of material and design, from period to period and from one area to another. Once the single most important objects a person could own, seals provided a mark of ownership and attest to the emerging concept of private property. These small engravings, represent a conscious effort to leave some sort of record, mute and enigmatic though it may be. Seal inscriptions served as signatures for those who could afford them, while others had to substitute fingernail marks or the imprint of the fringes of their garment.
First Impressions is not aimed at the specialist, but rather serves to introduce a fascinating subject. With over 1,000 illustrations, the book demonstrates the role these seals play as a rich source of information on economics, trade patterns, professions, and religious and personal affiliations. For all the knowledge they impart, the seals hold secrets as well. Their stories unfold symbolically and without a key to the symbols we can only guess at their meaning. One of the most intriguing mysteries surrounding these tiny artifacts is how ancient seal cutters were able to cut such intricate and detailed scenes without any form of magnification.
Attractive and intelligible to a general audience, this book serves as a perfect introduction, a comprehensive resource, and a remarkable summary of the available information on a rich and complex subject. If You’re Curious There are currently several thousand seals in museums and private collections throughout the world. The Pierpont Morgan Library, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York have excellent exhibits, as does the Yale Babylonian Collection in New Haven, CT.
Seals regularly appear in the sale catalogues of the great auction houses of the world, such as Christies, Sotheby’s and Drouot. Occasionally seals can be found at bead and gem shows, and  antiquities dealers often have seals in their inventory, notably Sadigh Gallery, Michael Ward Gallery, and Ancient World Arts, all in New York.
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