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An Achaemenid gold protome in the form of a recumbent ram image 1
An Achaemenid gold protome in the form of a recumbent ram image 2
Lot 62

An Achaemenid gold protome in the form of a recumbent ram

Antiquities
7 December 2021, 12:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

£30,000 - £50,000

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An Achaemenid gold protome in the form of a recumbent ram
Circa 6th-5th Century B.C.
Of hollow form, with ridged horns curving around the ears, details of the fleece and horns incised, the attachment terminal with a raised collar, 5cm high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private collection, France, ca. 1970s.
London art market, 2013.
with Safina Books, UK, June 2015.

The above lot bears a resemblance to the recumbent animals found on rhyta of the same period. Goats, specifically wild mountain goats, were an important aspect of ancient Persian iconography. Unlike Mesopotamia, which is flat, Iran has many mountains, and mountain goats, with their distinctive curved horns, became important markers of Iranian identity. To the Achaemenids, and Persians, the ram symbolized heaven, the male god, and power in warfare. Rams were also highly prized for providing wool, milk, meat and hides for leather.

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Bid now on these items

An Anatolian marble idol
A Mesopotamian clay cuneiform foundation cone with dedication inscription of King Lipit-Ishtar of Isin
A small Mesopotamian clay cuneiform foundation cone inscribed for King Sin-Kashid of Uruk
A Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Hittite bronze helmet with pelta-shaped cheek-pieces
A Babylonian agate "eye-stone" bead, inscribed for Nebuchadnezzar II
A large Etruscan Impasto Ware pottery olla
A Roman marble torso of a youth wearing a tunic
A Roman marble head of a satyr
An Attic pottery tankard with geometric decoration
A Greek bronze horse
A Greek pottery alabastron in the form of a greaved leg
A Greek green glazed faience hedgehog aryballos
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