One of twenty-one seals c. 800

Curator: Here we have "One of twenty-one seals", a carving rendered in metal, dating back to approximately the year 800, part of the collection here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. What strikes you first about this piece? Editor: Its primitive feeling, almost like a child’s drawing etched into stone, yet there’s a profound sense of history and ritual embedded within it. Curator: It's fascinating how seals like this operated as a form of signature and validation in many ancient societies. Their presence really signifies the emergence of formalized administrative and legal systems. The intaglio is simple yet recognizable as a horned animal – perhaps a deer or goat? Editor: To me, the image feels charged with a symbolic power. What social dynamics are at play when objects like these become so entwined with identity and authority? Seals such as this one often perpetuated exclusivity for a social or political elite. Curator: That's a vital point. Ownership of these seals signified participation within these governing systems. The use of animal imagery too is indicative of a link between the natural world, the earthly rulers who are represented in the administration, and a link to the divine or spiritual authority that would legitimize all such control. Editor: And, of course, metal itself holds cultural meaning. Its value designates class, position, privilege. I find myself questioning its purpose for its original audience versus today. Who controlled access to its image? Who owns the narrative now, situated as it is, within an institution such as this? Curator: Those are key questions. By examining the materiality, iconography, and history of use of these seals we get an understanding of both the cultural landscape and those with control, as well as insight into a structure and an administrative framework very unlike our own, but containing elements familiar even in our current context. Editor: I’m drawn back to its design. So spare and evocative! Something about the scale and texture makes me think of it not only as an emblem of power but a potentially potent personal object – even a talisman. What lingering insights do you take away from contemplating this ancient object? Curator: Its capacity to function as a historical witness. To speak, through its imagery and creation, of an intricate and deeply stratified society so far removed from us in time.