A GOLD PHIALE WITH REPOUSSÉ DECORATION D. 18.7... Lot 92

A GOLD PHIALE WITH REPOUSSÉ DECORATION D. 18.7 cm. W. 130 g. Gold. Achaemenid, 5th cent. B.C. The central medallion of this shallow bowl with very fine repoussé work shows a lion sinking its teeth into the back of an antelope. With the lion?s powerful claws dug into its neck and thigh, the antelope is unable to flee and has turned to face its attacker, whether in response to the assault or because it is already dying. The texture of the fur and faces of both animals are rendered with great care. Arranged radially around the central medallion containing the two animals are eighteen segments consisting of arched horizontal ribs framed by a lotus-palmette frieze worked in great detail. A moulding all round the bowl separates the inside from the smooth, flared rim. The whole relief is chased from the inside out. Minor lacuna on the rim, otherwise in an excellent state of preservation. Provenance: Formerly Galerie Koller, Zurich, 1982. Thereafter private coll., Zurich. Comes with an expert?s report from the University of Berne, dated 25.8.2014, which confirms that the phiale is ancient. - For the bowl type, cf. an example in silver, with a rosette as central motif, in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, see Cullican - 1965, pl. 54, dated by M. Terrace on the basis of the palmettes to the 5th cent. B.C. The dating to the Achaemenid Period is confirmed by comparisons of stylistic details: on the design of the anthemion, cf. Matthiae - 1999, 260 f.; on the antelope?s head, cf. Cat. Geneva - 1966, 118, no. 655, illus. 60; on the articulation of the lion?s body, ibid., 116, no. 636, illus. 49. GOLDPHIALE MIT REPOUSSÉ-DEKOR Dm. 18.7 cm. G. 130 . Gold. Achämenidisch, 5. Jh.v.C. Das zentrale Medaillon dieser flachen, in qualitätvoller Repoussé-Arbeit gefertigten Schale zeigt einen Löwen, der sich im Rücken einer Antilope festgebissen hat. Seine kräftigen Pranken bohren sich in Hals und Oberschenkel des Beutetieres, um es am Fliehen zu hindern. Die Antilope hat, den Angriff r