Five thousand years ago, ancient Middle Eastern Mesopotamian civilizations developed the written word, and this invention galvanized other areas of culture such as literature and the visual arts. And so we see seals — such as the one here made of shell from the Akkadian period (2334-2154 BCE) — which often showcased religious and political themes, as well as stories that these ancients had begun to write about. Seals worked by impressing upon clay in a rolling motion: you can see here how this works visually, in the modern clay rendition of a supplicant pouring a libation as an offering to a rain goddess and a storm god. The clay would eventually harden and become a barrier as a way to show that no one had read or opened whatever document, box, or door it guarded. Aristocrats considered the seals a sign of their high status, and fashioned them out of all sorts of precious materials such as lapis lazuli or rock crystal. They would carry the seals as a sort of amulet of magical protection.
Source(s): Seal is from the Morgan Library.
