A MEOTIAN-SCYTHIAN BRONZE BRIDLE ORNAMENT

CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details
A MEOTIAN-SCYTHIAN BRONZE BRIDLE ORNAMENT
CIRCA 4TH CENTURY B.C.
In the form of a stylized feline, its mouth open, with a long neck, its forelegs extending toward the lower jaw, the hind quarters reversed, with the rear legs bent acutely, the feet merging with a stylized bird head at the center, two attachment loops on the reverse
7½ in. (19 cm.) long
Provenance
American Private Collection, 1994.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, New York, 10 December 2004, lot 427.

Brought to you by

G. Max Bernheimer
G. Max Bernheimer

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Lot Essay

For a similar example see p. 83, fig. 9 in Leskov and Lapushnian, Art Treasures of Ancient Kuban.

The Meotians lived in the northwestern Caucasus, taking their name from Lake Maeotis, northeast of the Black Sea. According to Galanina, (p. 215 in Aruz, et al., ed., The Golden Deer of Eurasia, Scythian and Sarmatian Treasures from the Russian Steppes), exactly who the Meotians were is unclear; they may have been Scythians, pre-Scythian inhabitants who adopted Scythian customs, Scythian-ruled natives or Sarmatians.

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