This small cylinder seal once belonged to a scribe named Lugal-ezem, who most likely used it in his official duties. Seals were important for administrative, legal, and personal record keeping during the Third Dynasty of Ur (2112–2004 BCE), when this seal was created. Ancient Mesopotamia was comprised of individual city-states that controlled large areas of the region at different times. Ur was a city in southern Mesopotamia, the region also known as Sumer, along the Euphrates River. Ur was at the peak of its power during the Third Dynasty of Ur.
The image produced by this cylinder seal, most easily seen in full with a modern impression, is a standard type known as a presentation scene. A worshipper with a shaved head and long robe (at the left of the scene) is led to a seated deity (at the right) by a protective goddess figure known as a Lamma. Both the Lamma and the seated bearded god wear tiered robes and conical headdresses, indicating divine status. A crescent symbol appears above the open hand of the seated figure, which may be associated with Nanna/Sin, patron god of the city of Ur and god of the moon. Worn areas within the crescent symbol may implicate that it was recarved (a common practice in the 3rd millennium BCE), to conserve the precious stone material, to confer religious authority to the owner of the seal, or possibly indicate a move of the seal owner to a different temple.
