ARCHAIC PERIOD, CIRCA MID 6TH CENTURY B.C.

For similar examples, see nos. 107-108 and 110-111 in G. Ortiz, In Pursuit of the Absolute: Art of the Ancient World from the George Ortiz Collection. While the goats in the Ortiz Collection are believed to have once adorned the rim of bronze vessels, the present example may derive from a different context. It has been suggested that the lack of curvature when viewed in profile (corresponding to a vessel's rim) and the absence of perforations along its lower edge for attachment may indicate an alternative function.