ACHAEMENID BRONZE DEER RHYTON PROTOME ON STAND

Ca. 500 - 400 BC An exquisite Achaemenid bronze rhythm, a deer shape. The slender neck tapers from the shoulders to the head, the exquisitely sculptured rendition of a bounding deer's protome (forepart). The deer was rendered in the naturalistic style prevalent during the Classical period (480-336 B.C.). The animal's head is drawn back on its long neck, its ears perked upright. The eyes are bordered by raised lids. The upper lip of the closed muzzle extends over the lower, from which it is separated by lips with down-turned corners. A fine V is incised above the nostrils.
Size: 100mm x 90mm; Weight: 285g
Provenance: Property of an Oxfordshire art professional; previously in an old Canadian collection of F. N., Ontario, formed in the 1980s.

300
Estimate: GBP 450 - 900