The Goldsmith – Jeweler Of Egypt

(via 5000 Years of Gems and Jewelry) Frances Rogers and Alice Beard writes:

5. Babylonian Cylinders
Another form of signet stone was used by the ancient Babylonians. It was most frequently cylindrical in shape and generally from one to three inches long. The engraving, often elaborate and always intaglio, ranged in subject from sacred animals and gods to scenes depicting the adventures of mythical heroes; and it might also include the name and title of the owner or even a portrait of him crowned and robed like one of his gods. In any case, the design must be a mark of personal identification; no two cylinders were ever exactly the same.

Like the Egyptian scarab, the cylinder was worn both as amulet and seal, but not a swivel ring. A fairly large hole was drilled lengthwise through the stone so that it could be conveniently strung on a cord and suspended from the neck or the wrist.

The cylinders were carved from various gemstones, especially the softer ones such as steatite—familiarly known to us as soapstone—and serpentine. Serpentine is the modern name for a waxy, opaque stone, often rich green in color and mottled in a way that suggests the skin of a snake, hence its name. Harder stones: jasper, agate, rock crystal, brown chalcedony, and Amazon stone (another modern name for an ancient gem mineral) were also fashioned into cylinders.

The method of using this type of seal was simple. When a mark of identification was desired the cylinder was rolled over the flat surface of a bit of soft clay and the impression thus made by the incised stone was sharp and clear.

The use of signets was by no means confined to people of the upper classes. The itinerant merchant, who traveled with his caravan of pack-donkeys from Babylonia to other markets in other hands, tied up his bales of goods with rope and then ‘locked’ the rope with his personal seal—a bit of clay over which his signet cylinder had been rolled. Many broken clay seals have been unearthed, broken no doubt by the merchant himself when he opened his packs to show his wares.

Great quantities of engraved cylinders have been found in the ruins of Babylonia; and even today, when the rubbish of ancient mounds has been washed out by winter rains, Arabian women still find the ancient cylinders, which they value as amulets and wear strung together as necklaces. Nevertheless there is great willingness to part with the lucky pieces whenever the interested tourist is willing to pay the price.

The Goldsmith – Jeweler Of Egypt (continued)