Originally an offering at the shrine of a powerful deity, this 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 with fertility and rebirth. Birds were clearly important to the cult, perhaps being associated with the idea of the soul. This is an extremely fine example of early animal sculpture. Depicting the stylized head of a bird, its body bears the intaglio of a seated idol. Pressed into soft wax or clay, it would have created multiple images to win the favor of the god. Abstract and elegant, yet closely observant of nature, this remarkable seal evokes a vanished world at the dawn of Western culture.