A PARTHIAN PARCEL GILT SILVER PHALERA

CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.

Details

A PARTHIAN PARCEL GILT SILVER PHALERA
CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C.
With the central repoussé scene of a lion attacking a stag, the feline leaping onto the stag's back who falls beneath, its head turned back, with finely chased details of fur, remains of inlay in their eyes, stylized tree in the field behind, encircled by a band of alternate dots and waves, three pairs of triple attachment bosses around the edge, gilding over the figures and encircling band, the reverse with silver backplate remaining
6¼ in. (16 cm.) diam.

Provenance

Private collection, France, 1995.
Anonymous sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, France, 26 February 2003, lot 218.

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Lot Essay

Cf. M. Pfrommer, Metalwork from the Hellenized East, Catalogue of the Collections, The J. Paul Getty Museum, California, 1993, pp. 155-157, nos 30-31 for almost identical phalerae.

The three groups of attachment bosses once held three shallow loops on the reverse to thread the phalera onto the straps of the horse harness, which would have been worn in front of the saddle.

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