3rd millennium BC. A shell cylinder seal with mythological scene; accompanied by a museum-quality impression and a typed and signed scholarly note issued by W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Fossil Shell 30 x 18 mm. The design shows a mythological scene. In the centre is a recumbent bull and a structure on its back commonly called a 'winged gate.' On each side is a kneeling figure holding a rope from the gate'. This is an Akkadian seal, from Mesopotamia or south-west Iran. It has one of the less common deigns [sic] for that period, and it is rare in that both figures holding the ropes are kneeling. Most commonly one is seated. The scene only occurs in the Akkadian period and there is nothing written to explain what is happening. The seal is a little worn and slightly damaged at one spot, but the design is clear to see.' 18.2 grams, 30mm (1 1/4"). The Signo collection, the property of a West London businessman, formed in the late 1980s-early 1990s; item number W-504; academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s; accompanied by an original typed and signed scholarly note by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert.