25th-22nd century BC. A shell cylinder seal with lions and prey; accompanied by a museum-quality impression and a copy of a typed and signed scholarly note issued by W.G. Lambert, Professor of Assyriology at the University of Birmingham, 1970-1993, which states: 'Cylinder Seal of Fossil Shell 20 x 13 mm. The design shows a contest scene. Two lions with bodies crossing are rearing and attacking one horned animal each, as a hero at the far left is coming to the rescue. This is a Mesopotamian seal. c. 2500-2200 B.C. either late Early Dynastic or Akkadian period with the traditional design. It is worn.' 6.5 grams, 20mm (3/4"). The Signo collection, the property of a West London businessman, formed in the late 1980s-early 1990s; item number R-23; academically researched and catalogued by the late Professor Lambert in the early 1990s; accompanied by a copy of a typed and signed scholarly note by Professor Wilfrid George Lambert.