CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

This unusual object takes the form of a stag standing foursquare atop of a cylinder, with three birds resting on the antlers. The cylinder is bisected and edged by pairs of filigree twisted wires, creating two zones both filled with opposing triangles of granulation. The stag is richly ornamented, with some incised details and bands of filigree and granulation. The shoulders and chest display collar-set garnets, and the eyes are similarly set with glass. The birds have filigree wings and eyes, and each supports a pendant within its beak.
This finial recalls the ornament atop the diadem from the Khokhlach kurgan from Novocherkassk on the Lower Don River, dated to the 1st century A.D. (see fig. 13 in J. Aruz, et al., eds., The Golden Deer of Eurasia). For a gold buckle similarly set with garnets, ornamented with granulated triangles and surmounted by birds, see no. 104 in O.Z. Soltes, National Treasures of Georgia.