A Western Asiatic Gold Pendant, ca. early 1st millennium BCE Medium - Glass Brumfiel and John W

Brumfiel and John W

elaborately decorated

Many of these have a spout in the shape of a stirrup

Private Collection

It has been suggested the latter is the final vestige of a representation of the Sumerian lion-headed eagle Imdugud

A Western Asiatic Gold Pendant, ca. early 1st millennium BCE Medium - Glass Brumfiel and John WOf high karat gold, the sheet disk embossed with three reclining mouflon, centered by a hemispherical knob, the knob outlined in pinched dots, the disk surmounted by a suspension loop. This gold pendant attests to the exceptional skill of Achaemenid goldsmiths. Greek writers often speak of the tremendous wealth of the Persians, and Herodotus writes that King Xerxes' troops "were adorned with the greatest magnificence they glittered all over with gold,