Originally an offering at the shrine of a powerful deity, his votive seal was discovered with a cache of related artifacts along the shores of Lake Van in Armenia. The cult most likely centered around a nature god, one concerned also with fertility and rebirth. This abstract animal, perhaps a turtle, maybe a quail, was most likely worn as an amulet by a worshiper. The intaglio on the base depicts a waterfowl, and may have stood in proxy for a more costly sacrifice. Pressed into soft wax or clay. It would have created multiple images to please the deity. Abstract and elegant yet closely observant of nature, this remarkable seal evokes a vanished world at the dawn of western culture.