Pointed edge

Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati – April 2026

Introduction

In this style the seal carvers emphasized forms that are triangular with sharp edges and pointed ends. Often these triangles are long and narrow and composed in groups. The forms of the figures are placed close to each other but not overlapping so that the image is clearly readable even if there are a number of figures in the context. The sharp rendering of most forms contributes also to our understanding of the substance of the images.

Divine figures

Divine figures can be seated or standing but are not often shown in movement but when they are they are fighting with an animal. They can be shown holding objects (A1.483) and can have symbols connected with them. Looking at the … Tupkish seal (A12.82) we see that the Shamash figure in this seal of Tupkish has long narrow triangular sun rays coming from one shoulder; these rays are part of the god’s usual iconography in Mesopotamia.

Their heads are topped with crowns consisting in horns which can be simple (A12.82 …Tupkish) or they can be patterned (A1q914.8). As in the seal of Tupkish deities hair can be shown as two rounded protrusions at the back of the head. Tupkish has only one of these but two(A7.193) or even three balls are also found (A1q914.8). Deities can have pointed triangular ears (A13.15) extending from the heads which are shown either full face or in profile(A1q937.31).

Often they have sharply pointed thin triangular noses. They can have small or medium protrusions depicting their lips (A1q937.31).

Our evidence from the seal impressions carved in this style seldom give us an indication of the garments they are wearing. However the seal of Tupkish shows a figure wearing a long garment with a line of pointed triangles down the middle as in the Deep Fringe Style. But the most interesting is the garment of Shamash because of its visual connection with the inscription naming …Tupkish. The upper part of the garment is decorated with two rows of rectangles and the skirt portion with two rows of long very thin triangles. These patterns reflect the images of the cuneiform signs in the inscription placed directly behind the seated Shamash. ASK G FOR MORE DESCRIPTION OF THIS CONNECTION

Human bodies

Human bodies are rendered naturalistically (A16q834.1) but with their hands often in an open U-shape (A10q778,01). Human hair in the Pointed edge style is usually short and straight so reaches just below the ears (A6.63). This is also the type of hair that Enkidu has in the Gilgamesh-Enkidu plaque (A7.36) In this plaque Gilgamesh has short hair that we don’t find in the Urkesh seals even the young human figures as in the Family seal of Uqnitum (Akc5) or the later seal of Ishar-kinum (Akc10).

When human beards or hair are represented they are in a series of thin parallel triangles (Akc106) but sometimes the hair is depicted in this way but the beard is straight parallel lines (see both types in the human and bullman in (A13c1).

Nude males can be wearing horns (Akc106).

Humans fighting with animals can have hair extended from the same line as the nose and straight in the back ending just below the ears with a pointed rounded shape (A6.63).

Animal bodies

Animals can have triangular ears, mane and horns created with a running triangular pattern ( A12q542.04, A13.9, Akc7 Ishar-beli) shown as long and thin triangles (A5q790.02) or short and thicker triangles (A16q834.1, A5.96). Lions can have paws with sharply pointed feet and end of the tail (Akc106). Scorpions are rare but in a seal impression with an unusual positioned nude woman (J6q462.3) the scorpion next to her has a series of elements protruding from the body that could relate this seal to the Pointed Style.

There are few seal impressions with an important geometric pattern but A1c3 is a good example of the effect of a large number of thin shapes with sharp edges combined with animals with elongated bodies and horns.

Comparison with other styles

Comparing the Pointed Edge style with the Deep Fringe Style we can note that figures in the Pointed Style rarely have decoration on the garments but see (A7.69,A7.194) where one of the figures holding the tail of the bull has a pleated skirt. This is also the case for two figures in A7.327 connecting them also with the Deep Fringe style. Celestial symbols are not common but do occur (A15.270, A7.359 and A7.380). Sometimes bodily articulation is emphasized, such as long thin arms and legs in (A16c2 and AKc106).

Comparing it with the Dotted Eye Style we see that the eyes in the figures in the Pointed Style are usually small to medium ovals without a dot in the center even though this does occur sometimes (A7.380). In both these styles the head is almost always shown in profile but the eye is depicted frontally. While the eye of the figures is emphasized in the Dotted Eye they are small and not emphasized in the Pointed Style. In both these styles deities have horns in front view.

The triangles in the Pointed edge style are completely different from the triangular head in AKc107. This seal has a small human figure with a triangular shaped head and a central eye but the triangle is not pointed except for the nose on the face. However the main figure is a large human-like shape with a triangular head and upper body. The arms are overlapping the shoulder area of the body. The figure is fighting with an animal with what appears to be a triangular head or possibly a leg. These triangles of this seal are completely different from the Pointed triangles which are long, thin and have a sharply pointed end. In A9.24 we see the triangles forming long very thin horns as well as parts of the bodies, especially the legs.