John J. Gredler Works of Art

Ancient Sassanian Hematite Engraved Dome Stamp Seal 4th to 5th Century AD

Sassanian hematite domed stamp seal engraved with the image of a crouching stag with large antlers. Circa 4th/5th century AD. This seal is pierced through the side to allow for suspension from a necklace.

.5 inches diameter .4 inches high

Ex collection: Piero Tozzi , New York City Piero Vito Tozzi was an antiquarian, professor and art dealer who had galleries in New York and Florence. Tozzi specialized in Italian decorative arts, sculpture and paintings. .Tozzi sold work to individual collectors, galleries and institutions including, among others, the Schaeffer Galleries, Samuel Kress, the Art Institute of Chicago, Cincinnati Art Museum, Walters Art Museum and the Metropolitan Art Museum.

The stamp seal (also impression seal) is a seal die, frequently carved from stone, known at least since the 6th millennium BC (Halaf culture, and probably earlier. The dies were used to impress their picture or inscription into soft, prepared clay and sometimes in sealing wax.

In antiquity the stamp seals were common, largely because they served to authenticate legal documents, such as tax receipts, contracts, wills and decrees.