It is difficult to know for certain what animal this charming seal represents, but it is possibly a horned owl, a rabbit, or a mythical griffin. On the bottom is the intaglio image of a graceful water bird, either swan or duck. With a cache of related objects, it was found near lake van in Armenia. Thousands of years ago, these dickite sculptures were left as gifts to win the favor of some powerful god. The cult, whose iconography focuses on animal fertility and nature, may also have concerned rebirth and the afterlife. The bird may represent the idea of the soul. Pressed into soft wax or clay, the seal would have created multiple images to please the god. As we hold it in our hands today, we are in touch with the dawn of western culture.