Sasanian Agate Seal Bead Depicting Altar Scene (Auction 2026-06-05, Lot 184)

$257.00

Ancient Near East, Persia, Sasanian period, ca. 3rd to 7th century CE. A finely carved Sasanian agate stamp seal bead depicting a standing figure positioned before an altar, rendered in crisp intaglio against the warm honey brown surface of the stone. The scene is composed with deliberate economy, the figure and altar reduced to angular, architectural forms that emphasize ritual action over individual identity. Such imagery is closely associated with Sasanian religious practice and royal ideology, particularly Zoroastrian ritual, in which the altar served as a focal point for fire worship and divine presence. Seals bearing devotional or ceremonial scenes functioned both as personal identifiers and as protective amulets, linking the wearer to sacred order and sanctioned authority. Size: 0.6″ W x 0.9″ H (1.5 cm x 2.3 cm)

Drilled for suspension and smoothed by wear, this seal was meant to be carried or worn, its impression pressed into clay or wax to mark ownership or assent. Modest in scale yet rich in symbolic meaning, the bead offers a direct glimpse into the spiritual and administrative life of late antique Iran, where ritual, power, and daily identity were inseparable.

Provenance: Collection of Y. Kayvan, Los Angeles, California, USA, acquired from a Los Angeles, California, USA gallery acquisition dates range from the late 1990s to 2005

Condition: Good. Some chipping to sides, but, otherwise, intact, wearable, and very nice with liberal remaining detail.