Chapter Six - Sealing Practices in the Akkadian Period

Summary

During the Akkadian period in Mesopotamia (ca. 2334–2154 BCE) cylinder seals functioned within the highly developed administration established by the ruling dynasty in order to manage the state. Reconstructions of the economic management and organization of the state provide a useful context in which to examine glyptic art and in particular the relationship between imagery and sealing practice. This chapter explores the idea that different types of sealings may have had different functions within the administrative structure, and therefore would require varied kinds of information, or a different organization of the same information, to be conveyed via the seal impressed on the sealing. Innovations in sealing function at this time are considered in relation to two popular glyptic subjects, the contest and presentation scene, and how this imagery may express power and authority. The study of sealing types and practice in the Akkadian period can expand the discussion of the glyptic of this period beyond a focus on the innovative imagery and fine craftsmanship, allowing for new understandings of the ways in which certain glyptic imagery participated in systems of visual communication.