What is Cylinder Seal Art?
A Cylinder Seal A hole through it, to carry it with a string Impression of the seal on clay Cylinder Seals art was invented in ancient Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East, it was called “Kanukku” in ancient Assyrian language. Kanukkus consisted of a small cylinders about 1-2 in length and -3/4 in diameter with a hole going through the center. A small twig (or metal bar) through the hole acted as a hub or pivot around which the cylinder was rolled over wet clay tablet to transfer the impressions carved on it over to the clay tablet. Clay tablets were the means of documenting text (written in Cuneiform, i.e. wedge shaped symbols) long before the invention of paper. Cylinder seals were carved from stone (sometimes of semi-precious stones), and over their surface miniature designs of animals, birds, plants, things, humans, abstract patterns, some had hunting, battle, religious themes or Cuneiform text were carved on them. They were used to ide
