IRAN, CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

This elaborately decorated gold gazelle head most likely served as the finial of a whetstone. The neck is ornamented with filigree ropes and careful granulation, with additional granulation above the eyes and outlining the muzzle. The ridged horns and long ears were separately made. On each side is a circular perforation ringed with a plain filigree wire, no doubt used to pin the finial to the now-lost honing stone. A whetstone with a gold lion head terminal with similar filigree and granulated details was excavated at Susa, and is thought to be Middle Elamite, circa 12^th century B.C. (see no. 91 in Harper, Arux and Tallon, eds., The Royal City of Susa, Ancient Near Eastern Treasures from the Louvre). While most of the objects in the Vidal hoard are clearly Achaemenid, it may be possible that the gazelle head presented here is earlier in date, an heirloom from the Middle Elamite period.