ANCIENT GRECO BACTRIAN GOLD FIGURE ORNAMENT BACTRIA OXUS TREASURE CENTRAL ASIA

Description

An Ancient Bactrian Gold Figural Ornament
- Central Asia
ca. 300-100 BC
Gold, patina
Height: 2.5cm (1in)
Weight: 4g
PROVENANCE:
Private Sioux Falls, South Dakota Collection, prior to 1976
Property from a Private South Dakota Estate, acquired from the above in the early 1990s
*Documentation on file and can accompany the artwork for historical conservation purposes
Description: Seated figural ornament of hollow molded form, the voluminous body below a large oval face with bulging eyes and serene expression, crowned by a rounded turban, pierced at the top and bottom for suspension.
Provenance: The subject Bactrian ornament is formerly of a Private Sioux Falls, South Dakota Collection. The owner was a known dealer of firearms and ancient artifacts who sold the ornament to a Private South Dakota collector during the early 1990s
. Curatorial Remarks: Gold content not tested. Surface wear and patina
commensurate with age
and use.
Bactria (Bactriana, or Zariaspa), was an ancient country that resided between the mountains of the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) which is now part of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Bactria was especially important between about 600 BC and about 600 AD, serving for much of that time as a meeting place not only for overland trade between East and West but also for the crosscurrents of religious and artistic ideas. When Alexander the Great conquered the Persian Empire, he acquired all its outlying provinces including Bactria. Greek forces then established and maintained control in Bactria. After Alexander’s death, his kingdom was divided among his generals and Bactria became part of the eastern section, ruled by the Seleucid Dynasty. There was extensive immigration of Greeks who found several cities based on the Greek model complete with gymnasiums and amphitheaters. Later, the Greco-Bactria Kingdom asserted its independence, ruling the areas of Bactria and Sogdiana, comprising today's northern Afghanistan and parts of Central Asia, the easternmost area of the Hellenistic world, from 250 to 125 BC. The expansion of the Greco-Bactrians into northern India from 180 BC established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, which was to last until around 10 AD. The Greco-Bactrians were known for their high level of Hellenistic sophistication, and kept regular contact with both the Mediterranean and neighboring India. They were on friendly terms with India and exchanged ambassadors. Bactrian gold provides an elusive and fascinating look at the ancient culture of what is now Afghanistan. Tillya Tepe (translated literally as “Golden Hill”) is an archaeological site in the northern Afghan province of Jowzjan near Sheberghan. It is the place where the Bactrian gold was first excavated by the Russian archaeologist Viktor Sarianidi in 1978
.
Cf.
Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul
, May 25 - September 7, 2008, The Kabul Museum and The National Geographic Society and
Bactrian Gold Bead of a Seated Figure
(No. OS.079), 300 BCE - 100 BCE, The Barakat Collection, London for comparable examples
.
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