gems, glyptic, engraved gems, agate, cameo, intaglio, seals, cylinders, beads, jewelry, ancient gems, ancient jewelry, Gandhara, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Central Asia, India, Indo-Aryan

This article introduces two inscribed seals from ancient Gandhara that have recently come to light and share a common Hellenistic iconography. The names of their ancient owners provide a welcome addition to the growing onomastic corpus of the Gāndhārī language. It is a great pleasure to dedicate this small study as a token of respect and affection to Monika Zin who has taught us so much about the arts of India, Gandhara and Central Asia. A seal from an American private collection (Figs. 1 & 2) was first brought to my attention by Osmund Bopearachchi (Paris) in December 2020. Initially, only an imperfect impression was available that did not faithfully reproduce the letters in the name of the owner on the right. (Here and in the following, I will use the terms “left” and “right” with reference to how the seal was meant to be viewed, i.e., as in an impression.) In March 2021, thanks to the good offices of Jeffrey Spier of the J. Paul Getty Museum, I received a set of much better images of the seal as well as of an impression that clearly revealed all parts of the inscription, two of which are reproduced here. Nothing is known of the findspot of the object.