Seal with Unicorn and Inscription

c. 2000 BC

Seal with Unicorn and Inscription, c. 2000 BC. Pakistan, Indus Valley civilization. Steatite; overall: 3.5 x 3.6 cm (1 3/8 x 1 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1973.161 Indus Valley seals appear to have been hung on a string that passed through a boss on the reverse side. This animal, carved with detailed markings around his neck and forequarters, has his head positioned over an object on a stand that may be interpreted as an altar or brazier or censer; it is not known whether it is for offerings to or sacrifice of the animal. Specialists disagree as to whether single-horned bovines actually lived during the time of the Indus Valley Civilization, four thousand years ago.