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Glyptics (Version 1)

Styles. Realism

Ritual scenes

Marilyn Kelly-Buccellati – July 2000, June 2026
          Even a ritual scene can be quite realistic. In A15.270 the headless slaughtered bull is hanging upside down while the head is placed at the base of a column holding a large necked jar.
    A15.270
          The stark realism of the butchering scene is brought out by three videos we did of a modern day butchering which shows unexpected similarities with that represented on our seal:      In A15.270, the priests have just completed this part of the ritual as one holds the legs of the headless bull so it will have this reversed position and the other priest holds the knife and the tail about to continue butchering the bull. The seated woman is stirring something in a deep pot.
         A6.315 depicts the god Shamash between two small hills flanked by two sides of a door, with each side decorated differently. One of these is being held by another deity. The scene has a number of artistic details that emphasize the importance of this encounter, for instance the visual communication conveyed by the long knife held high by Shamash.
    A6.315