Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
Indus Valley seals appear to have been hung on a string that passed through a boss on the reverse side. This animal, carved with detailed markings around his neck and forequarters, has his head positioned over an object on a stand that may be interpreted as an altar or brazier or censer; it is not known whether it is for offerings to or sacrifice of the animal.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
147417
label
Seal with Unicorn and Inscription
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
147417
contentType
object
title
Seal with Unicorn and Inscription
description
Indus Valley seals appear to have been hung on a string that passed through a boss on the reverse side. This animal, carved with detailed markings around his neck and forequarters, has his head positioned over an object on a stand that may be interpreted as an altar or brazier or censer; it is not known whether it is for offerings to or sacrifice of the animal.
date
c. 2000 BCE
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60756084
genreSpecific
Seals
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 3.5 x 3.6 cm (1 3/8 x 1 7/16 in.)
cul
Pakistan, Indus Valley civilization
accession
1973.161
Source extras
tec
steatite
tombstone
Seal with Unicorn and Inscription, c. 2000 BCE. Pakistan, Indus Valley civilization. Steatite; overall: 3.5 x 3.6 cm (1 3/8 x 1 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1973.161
collection
Indian Art - Indus Valley
didYouKnow
Specialists disagree as to whether single-horned bovines actually lived during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, four thousand years ago.
citations
citation
"The Year in Review for 1973." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 61, no. 2 (1974): 31-78.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 194, p. 79
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 286
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 3
citation
Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. <em>Masterworks of Asian Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 106-107
creditline
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:33:29.525000
sourceId
147417
dept
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
coll
Indian Art - Indus Valley
med
steatite
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5a5bc8916bfc3f39