A Near Eastern scaraboid stamp seal carved from black hardstone. The obverse is decorated with short incisions along the edges, possibly mimicking the anatomical features of a scarab. The flat base has been carved with a stylised quadruped, with multiple star-like motifs in the background. The piece has been perforated longitudinally for suspension; however, it is now blocked. Earthly encrustations the surface. Seals are often made of stone however there are also examples rendered in bone, ivory, faience, glass, metal, wood, and occasionally sun-dried or baked clay. In the ancient world, seals guaranteed the authenticity of marked ownership – as such, they were instrumental in legal transactions, and in the protection of goods against theft. Seal amulets with stylised animals or fantasised zoomorphic figural have been found throughout Mesopotamia in contexts dating to the late forth millennium BC, although stamp seals and cylinder seals are predominant types in the ancient Near East. Measurements: Circa L 2.0cm x W 1.6cm Provenance: Ex West Country, UK, collection, 1990s.