Caucasian Gold Sheet Head of a Stylized Lion of the Colchian Culture

Culture: Colchian/Caucasian

Period: 5th-4th century B.C.

Material: Gold, terracotta

Dimensions: 4.8 cm in diameter

Price: 6 000 Euro

Ref: 5255

Provenance: From a Munich private collection at least since the 1990s. Last in the German art market.

Condition: Minor dents, but intact.

Description: Round head of a stylized lion formed from gold sheet over a fired clay core. The face is sculpturally formed. Eyes, nostrils and mouth are deepened and once possibly had inlays. The individual facial parts are partially divided in parallel running granule bands or twisted gold wires. Over the muzzle a very dense accumulation of granules. On the forehead two large globules. The stylized animal head, which possible depicts a lion, was a special decorative element. Stylistically it fits to the famous gold works of the Colchian culture, which today are primarily in the Georgian National Museum in Tiflis. In the Greek mythology Colchis was the destination of Jason and the Argonauts during their search for the Golden Fleece.