|
A
Sasanian Seal Collection in Context: Electronic Cultural Atlas
Initiative Publication of the Edward Gans Collection at University
of California, Berkeley
Guitty Azarpay and Jeanette Zerneke May 2002
This Internet publication provides online access to the
collection of Sasanian sealstones in the collection of the
University of California at Berkeley’s Near Eastern Studies
Department and contextual information on the Sasanian Empire.
The study offers a comprehensive analysis of some
370 sealstones attributed to the Persian Sasanian empire (AD
224-641) in Western Asia during the period of Late Antiquity. The
database for the present publication contains information about the
seal's pictorial theme and motifs, shape, material of manufacture,
iconography and inscription. It is hoped that this database of
Sasanian seals may be enriched by the future addition to it of other
Sasanian seal collections that may be cataloged according to the
relatively simple format adopted for the present study.
Electronic publication of the Seal Collection
enhances the value of the collection in the following ways. It
provides global access to enlarged images of the objects and of
their impressions and it enables users to search the collection with
multiple criteria. The user may quickly compare seals not only
within this publication but also with seals from other collections.
Detailed information on the history of the collection, its content,
and cataloging methodology is included.
Contextual information on the history of the
Sasanian Empire, maps of the empire’s extent, a gazetteer of
important sites in the Empire, and images of archaeological sites
are included. A map interface allows interactive viewing of the
context of the empire and access to the seal collection and
background information. The map interface and contextual information
is provided to enhance the research and teaching value of the
publication. It is hoped that by presenting a spatio-temporal
context for the seal collection, research on the provenance of the
seals, and other spatio-temporal patterns will be encouraged.
Placing the seals in their historical context creates a cultural
resource for use in teaching about the rich heritage of the Middle
East.
1,176 images, 1 pdf file, 5 maps. ISBN: 978-0-9722712-0-2 |