THE IMPERCEPTIBLE SCORPION: A SHORT STUDY ON THE VISUAL AND SYMBOLIC LANGUAGE OF AN EROTIC STAMP SEAL IMPRESSION FOUND AT TEPE GAWRA

This paper examines a group of erotic stamp seal impressions found at Tepe Gawra, chiefly inthe context of ancient Mesopotamian glyptic art. The aim of the work is to reinterpret those curious objects foundwith a representation of a mating couple on a seal, labelled by Tobler as no. 86 with the imag...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inActa archaeologica Lodziensia Vol. 69; no. 69; pp. 89 - 103
Main Author Paszke, Marcin Z
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Łódzkie Towarzystwo Naukowe 2023
Lodz Scientific Society
Subjects
Ancient World
Archaeology
Tepe Gawra
ritual sex
sexual intercourse
snake
Tepe Giyan
Chalcolithic
scorpion
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Summary:This paper examines a group of erotic stamp seal impressions found at Tepe Gawra, chiefly inthe context of ancient Mesopotamian glyptic art. The aim of the work is to reinterpret those curious objects foundwith a representation of a mating couple on a seal, labelled by Tobler as no. 86 with the image of a scorpion. Thearticle focuses on the motif of a scorpion, its morphology, its iconography, its cultural and symbolic meaning. Thesymbol of a scorpion, deeply immersed in the sphere of fertility and magic, seems to play a key role for the properunderstanding of the visual language of the erotic scenes found at Tepe Gawra.
ISSN:0065-0986
2451-0300
DOI:10.26485/AAL/2023/69/11