ISLAMIC. Circa 11th-14th century CE. Stamp Seal (Bronze, 26 mm, 12.14 g), with a hole and ring for suspension. ‘yā nabī Allāh kun / shafīʿī ilā Allāh’ (‘O Prophet of Allah! Be my intercessor with Allah’ in Arabic). Beautifully preserved and very attractive. Minor edge chipping, otherwise, extremely fine.


The inscription on the octagonal surface of this beautiful stamp seal is an Arabic supplication written in two lines in what is known as ‘angular’ or ‘linear’ Kufic script. Some of the letters end in ornamental forked terminals. The same inscription can be found on an oval orange carnelian gemstone preserved in the British Museum (Porter, V. (2011), Arabic and Persian Seals and Amulets in the British Museum, London: The British Museum Press, p. 76, no. 321).