CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.

Details

A BACTRIAN SILVER IBEX
CIRCA 1ST CENTURY B.C.
The well-modelled figure standing with his forelegs straight, his hind legs bent back, the large head with the oversized backward-curving horns with transverse ridges, the long tubular ears open to the back, the small almond-shaped eyes deep set, a tuft of hair on the forehead in between, the circular nostrils above the flat closed mouth, the long beard merging with V-shaped tufts along the chest, the short tail protruding at the rear, the genitalia rendered below, preserving portions of loops on the underside of each hoof, a hollow tube projecting from the back of the head
7 5/8 in. (19.4 cm.) high

Provenance

English Private Collection, 1970s.

Lot Essay

For a similar example, compare the smaller gold ibex, pl. 112-120, pp. 173-175 in Sarianidi, Bactrian Gold. This was found in Burial 4 at Tillya-tepe in northern Afghanistan and was dated by the excavators to the 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D. Some of the objects from the necropolis were considerably earlier in date, including Graeco-Persian gems of the late 5th and 4th centuries B.C., so it is possible that our ibex, like the gems, is earlier than the date suggested above.

For another silver example, sold in these rooms, see lot 352, 12 June 2002.

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