10TH-9TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A LARGE PERSIAN BRONZE TONDO
10TH-9TH CENTURY B.C.
Of sheet metal with raised central boss, a repoussé frieze comprising five scenes divided by branched trees: two 'Masters of Animals', one holding two upturned ibexes by their hindlegs, the other holding two rampant lions, two heroes each grasping a rampant lion, and a hero armed with shield and knife in combat with a lion, a guilloche border around the central boss and tondo rim, mounted
12 in. (30.5 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Christie's London, 11 June 1997, lot 32.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

Cf. O. W. Muscarella, Bronze and Iron: Ancient Near Eastern Artifacts in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1988, pp. 248-253, no. 344 for a similar tondo. The general academic concensus is that these tondi are not shields or shield buckles but were decorative discs worn on the body.

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