A Luristan Bronze Openwork Harness Roundel, ca. 1200 - 800 BCE
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This finely cast bronze harness roundel is executed in openwork form centered around a tubular aperture and framed by a serrated outer border. Four intertwined serpent-like creatures radiate symmetrically from the center, their elongated bodies curving dynamically around the composition to create a strong sense of rotational movement. The reverse preserves an integral attachment loop, indicating the object originally functioned as an ornamental fitting attached to horse harness or bridle equipment.
Openwork equestrian ornaments of this type are among the most recognizable products of the bronze-working traditions of ancient Luristan, a mountainous region of western Iran renowned for its highly sophisticated metal casting during the Early Iron Age.
Such fittings formed part of elaborate horse trappings associated with elite status, ceremonial display, and martial culture. The abstracted zoomorphic imagery and technical complexity exemplify the imaginative artistic vocabulary characteristic of Luristan bronzes.
Medium: Bronze
Dimensions: Diameter 3 1/4 inches (8.26 cm)
Condition: Intact and exceptionally well preserved overall. The surface displays an attractive ancient green and brown patina with areas of mineral encrustation and light earthen deposits. Offered on a custom stand.
Provenance: Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, Arms and Armour, Pre-Columbian, Ethnographic Art, and Antiquities, 30 March 1976, Lot 227. [part], Frank Raysor (1943-2022), New York. Gifted to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Virginia, 1991. [Acc. no. NA.1991.201]. Property from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, sold to benefit future acquisitions (accession number NA.1991.202), deaccessioned 2025.
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