Gyselen, Rika. 2017. Sasanian seals: Owners and reusers. In Ben van den Bercken & Vivian Baan (eds.), Engraved gems: From antiquity to the present (Papers on Archaeology of the Leiden Museum of Antiquities 14), 85–92. Leiden: Sidestone Press.
The majority of Sasanian seals are anonymous and anepigraphic. Some are engraved with an inscription, sometimes a personal name or the name of an institution. This information allows seal owners to be identified. It can be provided by:
A. Sigillographic data, that is, data intrinsic to the seal itself. This can be epigraphic and/or iconographic.
B. Textual data in a document with a sealed clay bulla still attached.
Seals were sometimes reused by subsequent owners; on some seals this reuse can be traced.