Central Asia, modern day Afghanistan, Bactrian, ca. 1st century BCE to 1st century CE. A trio of incredible gold discs made as appliques to adorn objects owned by the men and women of ancient Bactria. Two are a matched pair, with braided concentric circles around a central pin held in place by its widened shape at either end, but that has a range of movement and probably served as the attachment point for the appliques. The third has a hammered and punched design with triangular flares radiating from a braided circle and a solid middle pin capped by a delicate globe shape made of individual fine curved gold wires. Size of each disc: 1.45" W (3.7 cm); size of stand as shown: 3.5" L x 3.25" H (8.9 cm x 8.3 cm)

This style of gold artifact is well known from the excavations of the Tillya Tepe burial, found in northern Afghanistan. That burial mound, containing six graves (five female and one male), had over 20,000 golden artifacts and is known as "The Hill of Gold". Chemical analysis on that gold suggests that it was probably local, perhaps panned from Bactrian rivers. Four of the women were found wearing gold necklaces, bracelets, anklets, headdresses/crowns, and garments with multiple golden appliques sewn on them. Many of these objects show signs of wear, suggesting that they were not just made to be worn by the dead, but heirlooms carried onto the grave by the living. Although these three pieces do not, that is probably because they were attached to clothing or a headdress and not handled often.

Provenance: Ex-Private California collection

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