N.inv. Pigorini/ Serie W

71967/HT Wa 1512

The single-hole hanging nodule 71967/HT Wa 1512 is the only nodule hosted at the Museum Pigorini; originally there were two hanging-nodules with the same impression, but the single-hole hanging nodule 71968 has gone lost. The sealing bears the impression of a “two griffins in specular arrangement, each one with a smaller griffin in front” (Albertini et alii 2013, 10)

It bears a Linear A sign on face B

AB 81/ KU

The sign might serve as an abbreviation (/logogram) whose precise meaning is unknown. As it has been suggested, it might be related to agricultural or textile products, or to a category of people. It has also been hypothesized that it might represent a sigla for ‘totals’ – perhaps like KI, which may serve as an abbreviation for ki-ro “debt” (this is suggested in less ambiguous contexts though e.g. HT 118.2.3.4.5) (Negri 2002-2003, 100; Montecchi 2019, 282).

This nodule was discovered in the North-West Quarter, between the Room 13, also known as “Stanza dei Sigilli”, and the Portico 11, like most of the cretulae probably fallen from the upper floor, which collapsed in the fire that destroyed the Villa (Halbherr 1903, 30; Levi 1925, 73; for the provenance of administrative documents See Militello 1988, 1992, 2001, 2011).

Measures 2.0 cm x 1.4 cm x 1.3 cm.

Scribe Wa 86

The seal impression HT 95 recurs 102 times, but only one time in the “Pigorini corpus” (Del Freo 2002-2003, 64).

The motif represents two griffins with unfurling wings, with the head turned back and the body turned to the left; the two smaller griffins in front of them are turning left. It is considered a “naturalistic” and heraldic motif, on the base of the griffins’ position (Weingarten 1988, 106), but some scholars consider it a “talismanic” motif, even though the griffin is not a common feature of this style (Albertini et alii 2013, 10); nevertheless, sharp limits are not possible to be outlined, because it happens that typical subjects of the talismanic style can convey also vitality and dynamism, two main characteristics of the naturalistic style (Kryszkowska 2005, 136).

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