Seals are often made of stone; however, there are also examples rendered in bone, ivory, faience, glass, metal, wood, and occasionally sun-dried or baked clay. In the ancient world, seals guaranteed the authenticity of marked ownership – as such, they were instrumental in legal transactions, and in the protection of goods against theft. Seal amulets with stylised animals or fantasised zoomorphic figural have been found throughout Mesopotamia in contexts dating to the late fourth millennium BC, although stamp seals and cylinder seals are predominant types in the ancient Near East.
Animals occupied a prominent place in ancient art across a number of civilisations and across a variety of media, including painting, pottery, and jewellery. Some animals were venerated, whilst others were sacrificed. Their depiction is thus endowed with significance in several contexts: in religious rituals, as mythical creatures, and as incarnations or symbols of gods and goddesses. Ibexes were one of the most widespread images in the ancient Near East and considered as a symbol of fertility, rebirth and rejuvenation in many cultures. The animal mainly appeared in hunting or religious scenes as well as in association with the ‘Tree of Life’.
