Bronze
W: 4.68-5.65 cm
Provenance: no indication
Central Siberia, Tagar Culture II
5th-4th century B.C.
Cast by the lost wax process, the back hollow, and summarily worked in the cold.
Condition: the metal a bronze medal colour with green, red cuprite and traces of tinning on the surface. The hollowed back a shiny bright green patina.
Several of the openwork loops on the outer side broken as is attachment of tail end to jaw.
The wolf appears to be biting his tail near the end of his curled body which terminates in a griffin protome. The coiled animal form is a typical Scythian motif.
Possibly part of horse trappings.
A fairly close parallel is to be found in the C.T. Loo - afterwards Baron von der Heydt - collection [1].
Exhibited and Published:
Animal Style Art, cat. no. 48, pp. 78, 75 ill.
1 Salmony, A.: Sino-Siberian Art in the Collection of C.T. Loo (Paris, 1933), no. 10, p. 45 pl. XV. - Griessmaier, V.: Sammlung Baron Eduard von der Heydt Wien (Vienna, 1936),
no. 77, pp. 52-53.
