– 87 – ISSN 0989-5671 2020 N° 2 (juin) NOTES BRÈVES 38) A Cylinder Seal with a Spread-Wing Eagle and Two Ruminants from Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum — This study shares the (re)discovery of a cylinder seal (AR 12517) housed at Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex. 1) The analysis of the seal offers two contributions: First, the study offers a rare record of the business transaction of a cylinder seal by the famous orientalist Edgar J. Banks. Second, the study adds an exceptional and well-preserved example of a cylinder seal engraved with the motif of a spread-wing eagle and two ruminants to the corpus of ancient Near Eastern seals. The study of this motif reveals that the seal published here offers one of the very few examples of a single-register seal which features a spread-wing eagle flanked by a standing caprid and stag. Acquisition History The museum purchased the cylinder seal for $8 from Edgar J. Banks on April 1st, 1937. Various records indicate that Banks traveled to Texas occasionally for speaking engagements and even sold cuneiform tablets to several institutions and individuals in Texas. 2) While Banks sold tens of thousands of cuneiform tablets throughout the U.S., this study adds to the comparably modest number of cylinder seals sold by Banks. 3) Although Banks’ original letter no longer remains, the acquisition record transcribes Banks’ words as follow: (Seal cylinders) were used for two distinct purposes. First, they were used to roll over the soft clay of the Babylonian contract tablets after they were inscribed, to legalize the contract and to make it impossible to forge or change the contract. Secondly, they were used as charms and were worn about the neck to keep off disease and evil. 4) A separate note which follows this transcription identifies the seal’s origin from northern Babylonia and dates the artifact to the period of Nebuchadnezzar (605–562 B.C.). Although the record does not explicitly credit these observations to Banks, because his letter customarily described an artifact’s basic content, purpose, date, and provenance, the proposed date and place of origin likely reflect Banks’ initial assessment of the seal. 5) A careful analysis of the seal’s artistic motif, however, suggests that the seal originated from a much earlier date.