A fine Near Eastern cylinder seal carved from yellow-white chalcedony, featuring stylised zoomorphic figures. Carefully engraved across the surface, a pair of human-headed sphinxes, flank an anthropomorphic figure on both sides. The sphinxes are depicted standing on long, narrow legs, with winged, curving bodies, surmounted by bearded human heads. They face the human figure, who is also shown standing, wearing a robe and headdress or crown, facing right, with their arms bent, clasped at their torso. Behind and between the sphinxes, a palm tree, with a cross-hatched trunk and two large leaves, completes the composition. All the figures have been rendered stylistically. The details of their their facial features, such as eyes, noses, mouths, and the zoomorphic figure's wings, are still clearly visible. The seal has been perforated longitudinally for suspension. Encrustations and signs of wear as consistent with age, such as chipping, scratches, and pitting. Please note that the impression is for reference only. Seals in antiquity were 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 with stylised animals or fantasised zoomorphic figural have been found throughout Mesopotamia and dating to the late fourth millennium BC. Measurements: (circa) W 0.8cm x H 2.4cm Provenance: Ex. R.B. collection, Cotswold, UK, 1980s.