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  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  1922. 
  

  

  tion 
  in 
  consequence 
  of 
  the 
  decomposition 
  of 
  minute 
  scales 
  or 
  films 
  

   on 
  the 
  surface 
  that 
  reflect 
  light 
  in 
  colors 
  similar 
  to 
  the 
  delicate 
  hues 
  

   on 
  the 
  neck 
  of 
  a 
  dove 
  or 
  of 
  soap 
  bubbles. 
  

  

  The 
  Museum's 
  collection 
  of 
  ancient 
  glassware 
  comprises 
  a 
  large 
  

   variety 
  of 
  vessels: 
  amphoras, 
  pitchers, 
  cups, 
  bowls, 
  dishes, 
  vases, 
  

   bottles 
  of 
  various 
  shapes, 
  besides 
  bracelets 
  and 
  beads. 
  

  

  ANCIENT 
  ORIENTAL 
  SEALS. 
  

  

  Seals 
  among 
  the 
  ancient 
  peoples 
  served 
  a 
  threefold 
  purpose: 
  (1) 
  

   to 
  authenticate 
  a 
  document, 
  as 
  does 
  the 
  modern 
  signature, 
  (2) 
  as 
  

   talismans, 
  and 
  (3) 
  as 
  ornaments. 
  The 
  oldest 
  form 
  of 
  seal 
  is 
  a 
  cylin- 
  

   der. 
  It 
  had 
  its 
  origin 
  in 
  Babylonia, 
  where 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  traced 
  back 
  in 
  

   the 
  fourth 
  millennium 
  B. 
  C, 
  while 
  in 
  Egypt 
  it 
  goes 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  

   first 
  dynasties, 
  but 
  there 
  was 
  later 
  superseded 
  by 
  the 
  engraved 
  

   scarab 
  or 
  beetle. 
  The 
  material 
  of 
  the 
  seals 
  varies 
  from 
  the 
  hardest 
  

   stones, 
  as 
  porphyry, 
  quartz, 
  hematite, 
  rock 
  crystal, 
  to 
  the 
  soft 
  

   marble, 
  serpentine, 
  alasbaster, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  ivory 
  and 
  bone. 
  The 
  en- 
  

   graving, 
  in 
  intaglio, 
  occupies 
  the 
  convex 
  surface. 
  The 
  subjects 
  en- 
  

   graved 
  on 
  them 
  represent 
  either 
  episodes 
  of 
  ancient 
  myths 
  and 
  

   legends 
  or 
  religious 
  ceremonies. 
  They 
  are 
  often 
  accompanied 
  by 
  

   inscriptions. 
  The 
  cylinders 
  are 
  generally 
  pierced 
  longitudinally. 
  

   Through 
  the 
  hole 
  a 
  metal 
  axis 
  was 
  passed, 
  by 
  means 
  of 
  which 
  it 
  

   was 
  rolled 
  on 
  the 
  soft 
  clay, 
  which 
  was 
  the 
  writing 
  material 
  in 
  the 
  

   valley 
  of 
  the 
  Euphrates. 
  In 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  Assyrian 
  Empire, 
  in 
  

   the 
  seventh 
  century 
  B. 
  C, 
  the 
  cone, 
  usually 
  of 
  chalcedony 
  or 
  carne- 
  

   lian, 
  begun 
  to 
  replace 
  the 
  cylinder 
  seal. 
  In 
  the 
  Persian 
  period 
  the 
  

   cone 
  seal 
  developed 
  into 
  the 
  hemispherical 
  or 
  flattened 
  into 
  the 
  

   shape 
  of 
  a 
  finger-ring. 
  

  

  The 
  Museum's 
  collection 
  has 
  nearly 
  a 
  hundred 
  original 
  seals, 
  

   mostly 
  cylinders, 
  and 
  upwards 
  of 
  three 
  hundred 
  flat 
  casts. 
  

  

  COINS 
  AND 
  MEDALS. 
  

  

  The 
  collection 
  of 
  upwards 
  of 
  500 
  specimens 
  comprises 
  Greek 
  coins, 
  

   beginning 
  with 
  Alexander 
  the 
  Great, 
  Roman 
  coins 
  of 
  the 
  Republic 
  

   as 
  well 
  as 
  of 
  the 
  Empire, 
  Byzantine 
  coins. 
  Papal 
  and 
  other 
  Italian 
  

   coins, 
  besides 
  small 
  numbers 
  of 
  Carthaginian, 
  Armenian, 
  and 
  

   Mohammedan 
  coins. 
  

  

  ORIENTAL 
  TILES. 
  

  

  The 
  collection, 
  which 
  comes 
  from 
  Turkey 
  and 
  Persia, 
  consists 
  of 
  

   glazed, 
  enameled, 
  and 
  inlaid 
  tiles 
  and 
  plaques. 
  

  

  COLLECTION 
  OF 
  BIBLES. 
  

  

  The 
  collection 
  includes 
  editions 
  of 
  the 
  Scriptures 
  in 
  the 
  original 
  

   tongues; 
  facsimiles 
  of 
  the 
  manuscripts 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  versions; 
  several 
  

   English 
  versions; 
  and 
  translations 
  in 
  modern 
  foreign 
  languages. 
  

  

  