Σασανιδική σφραγιδογλυφία: Ιστορικές και εικονογραφικές παρατηρήσεις στις Σασανιδικές σφραγίδες από ελληνική ιδιωτική συλλογή

Abstract

Title: Historical and pictorial observations on Sasanian seals from a Greek, private collection

The subject of this study is, first of all, the presentation of forty-one (41) unpublished seals of the Sasanian period, originating in Iran, that belong to an old Greek private collection. With this opportunity at hand, a consolidated presentation was conducted for the special characteristics of Sasanian seals. Τhis study concerns archaeological artifacts of a foreign culture, which Greek scholars are not particularly familiar with: sasanian seals are not found neither in Greek excavations, nor in Greek bibliography, nor in Greek museums, but they do exist in many Geek, private collections . The f irst part of the study, according to data collected from the international bibliography, contains an analysis of the special shape of Sasanian seals, the types of semi-precious stones used, the way the seals were used by their owners, the stylistic performance of the depicted motif, the Pahlavi script and the highly recognizable pictorial subjects, which embody the political, social and religious perceptions of the Sasanids. The second part of the study is a detailed descriptive list of the seals of the collection, with bibliographic and photographic documentation. T he seals were organized and presented with criteria of the pictorial subject: human figures, animals and birds sorted by species, monograms (“nisan”) and forms-symbols related to Zoroastrianism (Gayomard, fire-altar). Due to the large quantity of seals depicted animals, additional information is given for each species of animal separately (zebu-bull, horse, stag, lion, gazelle, hare, monkeys, griffin). T hree of the seals (Fig. 9, 22, 30) are the most important items of the collection, because of the better quality of their carving and the fact that they bear an inscription. Apart from the usual, standard auspicious phrases (“be righteous”, “prosperity’’, “reliance on the gods”), two of them (Fig. 9, 22) bear the names of their owners (Šād and Zamāg), certainly prominent members of the Sasanian community