NEO-ASSYRIAN Reign of SENNACHERIB 705 - 681 - Lot 8

NEO-ASSYRIAN Reign of SENNACHERIB 705 - 681 Engraving: Banquet scene. Servant serving a meal to a seated deity. The scene is surrounded by numerous symbols: the Sibitti (seven protective deities likened to the seven stars making up the Pleiades), symbol of Nergal (Lord of the Underworld), winged symbol of Shamash (sun god) and the crescent of Sin (the Moon). Bounding the scene, a stilt-walker between an eye and the star of Ishtar. Blonde agate cylinder seal (40.63 x 15.40 mm) Chipping at edge. Very fine. Sennacherib was king of Assyria from 705 to 681 B.C. He was the son of Sargon II, who had associated him with power during his lifetime. His reign is known to us from numerous Assyrian cuneiform inscriptions, in the form of bullae, steles, cylinders or prisms, including the so-called Taylor prism, preserved in the British Museum, which relates eight military campaigns, including the one against Judah recounted in the Bible.