One of a collection of seals made of cornelian, glass and brass, finely engraved in Arabic script. Some of the brass ones are backed with bitumen, indicating the method by which they were held in the mountings. Since these mounts were often precious, they have probably been removed for melting down. "These seals were ... frequently used by merchants and when a deal was consummated each party handed over his seal to the other who after wetting the document to be sealed with his wet thumb, pressed the seal upon the ink-pad and then reproduced it on the moistened document.' Seals are of various shapes: square, round, oval and triangular. From 0.4" x 0.45" to 0.9 x 0.6".
Cornelian seal which is oval in shape, with an inscription on one side.
