Matched Scythian Gilt Silver Adornments (pr)

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CLEARANCE | Ancient & Ethnographic Art

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 17, 2022

Set Reminder 2022-02-17 10:00:00 2022-02-17 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : CLEARANCE | Ancient & Ethnographic Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/clearance-ancient-ethnographic-art-8898
Join us for our first clearance sale of the year featuring discounted pricing and many new items! Asian art, Classical antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Italy, and the Near East...plus Pre-Columbian, Tribal, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, Fossils, more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  **Originally Listed At $1500**
  
  Western Asia, Scythian, ca. 1st millennium BCE. A pair of matching gilt silver appliques, both decorated in repousse with a knot-like arrangement of abstract zoomorphic or avian imagery. The ancient Scythians left behind a tremendous body of beautiful precious metalwork, nearly all of it found in tombs called kurgans that dot the landscape from the Black Sea to Mongolia. Goldwork pieces probably came from workshops located on the north of the Black Sea, in modern day Ukraine and Russia. Wonderful examples of the finely crafted Scythian animal style! Size: 1.875" Diameter (4.8 cm); 1.75" H (4.4 cm) on included custom stand; gold gilt quality: 44% to 45% gold (equivalent to 10K+); total weight: 33.1 grams
  
  Just who were the Scythians? While most of us are familiar with the ancient civilizations of Greece, Rome, and Egypt, the nomadic Scythians tribes are lesser known, perhaps because they were less interested in empire building and their culture was relatively more ephemeral than others. This said, the Scythians originated in southern Siberia and controlled a sizeable territory stretching from northern China to the Black Sea. They are best known for the so-called "Scythian triad" - weaponry, horse gear, and animal art like exemplified by these zoomorphic adornments.
  
  Cf. "From the Lands of the Scythians: Ancient Treasures from the Museums of the U.S.S.R., 3000 B.C. - 100 B.C." The Metropolitan Museum of Art & the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1975; Ellen D. Reeder, ed. "Scythian Gold," Abrams, 1999.
  
  A pair of Scythian gold appliques hammered for $5,640 at Christie's, New York (sale 9826, December 5, 2001, lot 45)
  
  Provenance: East Coast collection, New York Gallery, New York City, New York, USA, acquired before 2010
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.
  
  Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.
  
  #153164

  Condition

  Roundel with darker patina has a 0.25" fissure from the border that does not interfere with repousse imagery. The other ornament was repaired from two large pieces and shows a minute loss to the periphery. Both have encrustations on verso and remains of leather to which it was once attached on verso near the rivets.
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