2300-2000 BC. A jasper cylinder seal with a worshipper before a cuneiform inscription, monster behind; accompanied by a museum-quality impression and a copy of a typed and signed scholarly note by W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Cream Stone, 28 x 17. On the left stands a monster: body of a bull, talons of a bird of prey, wings, and a brush tail. Its head is down and its tongue projects. On the right is a standing worshipper, wearing a long robe with bottom fringe, holding a kid over one shoulder and raising the other hand. There is a cuneiform inscription between the two main items, and a star in the sky. The inscription reads: ki?ib a-bar-a a?gab Seal of Abara, leather worker. This is a seal from northern Mesopotamia or Syria, c. 2300-2000 B.C. It is a little worn, but the design remains clear. The inscription was put on by a craftsman who was illiterate, so that some signs are not the right way round.' 13 grams, 28mm (1"). The Signo collection, the property of a West London businessman, formed in the late 1980s-early 1990s, item number 1805; academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s.