M0004553: Neo-Assyrian cylinder seal impression from the eighth century BCE as a possible depiction of the slaying of Tiamat by the god Marduk

Previous title, replaced May 2020: Seal cylinder: engraved scene depicting the slaughter of the monster Tlamat by the god Marduk.

A reproduction of a photograph of an impression made from a cylinder seal. The scene is possibly believed to be depicting the slaughter of Tiamat, a primordial goddess of the sea and symbol of the chaos of primordial creation in Mesopotamian religion. She is possibly being slayed by the god Marduk, patron deity of the city of Babylon.

3 March 1936

1 photograph glass plate negative; 12 x 16 cm

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2021.

This item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.