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Details
LOT 0073
Greek Gold 'Golden Fleece' Ram-Horn Pair
5TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
4 in. (60.61 grams total, 10.5 cm each).
A matched pair of sheet-gold model ram's horns, each curved with a narrow end flattened, ribbed body, flared rim to the mouth with applied granule detailing; probably from a representation of the χρυσόμαλλον δέρας or 'golden fleece' from the legend of Jason and his adventures with the crew of the ship Argo.
Provenance
From a private collection of seals and amulets, the property of a Canadian gentleman living in London; from his father's collection formed in the late 1960s to 1980s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13105-249639.
Footnotes
The legend of the Golden Fleece is referenced by several ancient writers, including Pindar, whose reformulation forms the basis of most modern retellings, but an earlier version was evidently familiar to Homer in the 8th century B.C. It appears as a pictorial theme on early Greek vases. The story refers to a celestial winged ram with golden wool, which was believed to live and be worshipped by the inhabitants of lands north of the Black Sea; this ram, in some versions of the tale, is transformed into the constellation Aries.
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