114 - Seal cylinder; Bactria, Afghanistan. 2nd millennium B.C.

Seal cylinder; Bactria, Afghanistan. 2nd millennium B.C. Stone. Certificate issued by Christophe Varosi in 1994 is attached. The gold-plated area was added after the seal was dated. Measurements: 5.5 x 3 x 3 cm. Provenance: Family bequest of Ramon Martí Alsina and Ricard Martí Aguiló. An archaeological collection assembled beginning in the 1950s by successive generations of the family through acquisitions at European galleries and auction houses. It previously belonged to a private Belgian collection. Seal cylinder made of redstone, featuring an impression depicting an enthroned figure. These graphic motifs are recessed into the seal so that they can be imprinted on clay by rolling the cylinder; this was done using a ring, a handle, or a cord threaded through its drilled axis. The images depicted on cylindrical seals were primarily based on themes—often sociological or religious—thus presenting ideas about society in pictographic and textual form. Bactriana, also known as Bactria, is the ancient Greek name for the region of Central Asia located between the Hindu Kush (to the south) and the Amu Darya River (to the north). Today, this territory corresponds to northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. A fertile region of oases and mountains, Bactria has been, since ancient times, an important and almost inevitable stop along trade routes and for communication between the Far East, the Indian subcontinent, and the Mediterranean basin. Of particular importance in this region is the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex, the modern archaeological designation for the Bronze Age culture of Central Asia, dating approximately from 2200 to 1700.