Each ibex faces left with their legs tucked underneath them, with pronounced musculature, large, round eyes, and large horns curled back over its head. Cast in repousee, the concave back sides have two hooks for attachment to garments or belts. When the nomads of the Eurasian steppes entered the region bordering on the ancient Near East, they brought with them a highly mobile lifestyle, including a sophisticated horse-riding military and a tradition of wealth display in the form of precious and semi-precious ornaments for their clothing, equipment, and animal trappings. By the fifth century BCE, the art of the nomads was influenced by arts from nearby settled populations, including the Greeks and the Achaemenid Persians. Published: T. Pang, Treasures of the Eurasian Steppes: Animal Art from 800 B.C. to 200 A.D. (New York, 1998), pls. 40 and 42. Dimensions: Height: 1 1/8 inches (2.85 cm), Length: 1 3/8 inches (3.06 cm) Condition: Intact and in excellent condition overall, presented on a custom mount. Provenance: an American private collection, New York, 1990s, Boisgirard Auctions, Paris, March 1996, lot 72, Ariadne Galleries, New York, 1998.
