Cylinder Seal

CBS Register: VI Season. Lapis cylinder seal found against the right arm of Queen Shubad. with the gold pin U.10940 (B16729) (3 pins and 3 cylinders)

UE II: Cylinder seal, lapis-lazuli.

This dark blue lapis lazuli cylinder seal was found leaning against the right upper arm of a queen. On it is engraved a double-register banquet scene with only female participants. All of the women wear a skirt or a dress with a long fringe, and their long hair is drawn together at the nape of the neck in a bun. In the upper register, two females sit on identical folding stools facing each other and raising their conical drinking cups. Between them, two standing servants gesture with raised hands, and to the far left a third servant stands gently waving a square fan. In a second banquet vignette in the lower register, a single female celebrant sits on a stool facing a high table laden with breads and a haunch of meat and is flanked by servants. Behind her, a woman holds a handled jar and raises a cup, perhaps offering a portion of beer to drink with the meal. To the side, a separate scene depicts a musical performance, in which one woman plays a small four-stringed instrument accompanied by two women who clap cymbals and perhaps sing. Two similar cylinder seals were found close to the body of the queen. On one, the banqueters drink from straws that drawn down liquid from a large jar. The other carries an inscription Pu-abi, nin designating the owner as Puabi, the queen. It is this seal that makes Puabi’s identity certain.

The two cuneiform signs that compose her name were initially read as "Shub-ad" in Sumerian. Today, however, we think they should be read in Akkadian as "Pu-abi."