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Large Agate Sasanian Stamp Seal with Deity -- Gayomard browse these categories for related items... All Items: Near East: Sassanian: Pre AD 1000: item #588839
$150 |
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Long an opponent of the Roman and Byzantine empires, the Sasanian empire (AD 224-642) was the last independent Persian monarchy before the Arab conquest of Western Asia in the 7th Century AD. The Sasanian Dynasty began with a regional ruler in the province of Fars in southwest Iran, whose empire eventually stretched from India to the Black Sea after defeating the last of the Parthian emperors. The state religion was Zoroastrianism and many seals bear testament to the importance of this faith in their art.
This hefty agate seal shows a deity facing right, likely Gayomard, who was closely associated with the Zoroastrian creation myth. Gayomard was the first human being, genderless, created by the supreme god Ahura Mazda after he had created the Earth. Angra Mainyu, the force of Evil, sent a demon to kill Gayomard, and from his body sprang a tree that bore the first man, Mashya, and the first woman, Mashyana. For similar, see the online collection, Sasanian Seals from the Collection of the Late Edward Gans, at UC Berkeley, #10.D.11 & 10.D.13: http://ecai.berkeley.edu/sasanianweb/docs/sasanianseals.html AGE: 400-600 A.D. CONDITION: Some minor chips to the body of the stone, but not to the base -- the impression is uncompromised. DIMENSIONS: 2.1 cm long |
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