LOT 0109

Scythian Gold Ibex Plaque Pair

CIRCA 7TH CENTURY B.C.

1 1/4 in. (15.6 grams total, 34-34.2 mm).

Each a profile ibex with head reversed, horn returned to attach at the neck, pellet eye, beaded ring-and-dot motif to the shoulder and hip; thick attachment loop to the reverse. [2]

Acquired in the 1980s.
Private collection, London, UK.

Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13253-252971.

Cf. Ledkow, A., Tesori Dei Kurgani Del Causaso Settentrionale, Rome, 1991, no.140, for a similar plaque; Various, Ancient Bronzes from China, Ordos and the Steppes, London, nos.28, 58, for similar plaques; Piotrowskij, B.B., Tesori d’Eurasia, 2000 anni di Storia in 60 anni di archeologia sovietica, Milano, 1987.

It is possible to hypothesise that these two elements were bridle plaques, like the two wolf-shaped bridle plaques, in a similar position and style, found in the Kurgan of Pazyrik (Piotrowskij, 1987, p.107, no.137). Belt plaques with zoomorphic motifs illustrate not only the recognised unity of the zoomorphic art of the Steppes, but also the links between the Scythians and the eastern nomadic groups.