Examination of unpublished cylinder-seals, seals and gems of the Antiquity collection in the Museum of Cultural History (University of Oslo)

With the research in the Museum of Cultural History (Oslo), my objective is to classify the cylinder-seals, seals and gems held there. These objects were collected by Baron Plato von Ustinow in the 19th century. This collection counts more than fourty cyl inder-seals, seals and gems coming from the Ancient Near-East, mainly from Palestine, Mesopotamia, Syria, and the Iranian areas. These unpublished objects have not been exhibited. Moreover, their documentation and classification has not been prepared duri ng more than a century. The collection counting ancient Babylonian, Syrian, Cypriote, Palestine, Moabite and Sassanian material dates from the second millennium BC to the 5th century AD. By the invitation to research-agreements signed by Dr. Frode Iverse n (Head of the Department of archaeology) and Dr. Marina Prusac (Associate professor, Keeper of the Antiquity collection) on the 25th of March 2009, I have been commissioned to prepare the documentation, drawings and the publication of the cylinder-seals, seals and gems. On the request of Dr. Marina Prusac, I have already started to classify these objects using their photos sent by e-mail. I did thorough background work during the previous research pertaining to this topic available in Hungary (i.e. the c ategorization of the seals) in preparation for a future research. I would like to continue my work with these objects in order to finish this research in the Museum of Cultural History (University of Oslo). The Yggdrasil Programme would ensure the possi bility to study directly this material. I wish to complete the iconographical and material analysis during the planned one month research in Oslo. Moreover, I wish to make the drawings of this material. With the scholarship of the Yggdrasil Programme, I c ould complete the second part of the treatment of this material in Oslo. The main purpose of this project would be the publication of these objects.