Magnificent pair of gold inlay Falcons,hawks,eagles or Shahbaz, Persian.38" inches high each.----------------------------------------------------------------------------David's note: Before you go any further, look at lot 93 from the same estate.All three birds came from the same NYC area estate, and have not been seen for 40 to 50 years.All three are gold inlaid into steel or copper, or copper covered steel.There is exposure to air on the two large ones, I believe both birds in lot 95 were inlaid with gold as is lot 93, but the air in the basement somehow turned the gold inlay off, or covered over the gold inlay with oxidation.It's possible with polishing more gold will come up to the surface, or possible it's lost forever.You have to consult a metalsmith.All three are probably from Iran, where the symbol of a Falcon is an important image.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------There is actually a larger mythical bird, which these might represent, that is like a large Falcon, called a Shahbaz(see below from Wiki):"Shahbaz (Persian: شاه‌باز‎) is the name of a fabled bird. It is like an eagle, bigger than a hawk or falcon. The shahbaz lived in the Zagros, Alborz, and Ghafghaz mountains of Iran. In old Persian mythology, Shahbaz was a god who helped the Iranians and guided Faravahar to Iran zamin. During the Achaemenid era, especially at the time of Cyrus the Great, the Persian imperial flag was rectangular in shape, divided kite-like into four equal triangles alternating between two colors. In the excavations at Persepolis archaeologists found a standard depicting a Shahbaz or golden eagle (Derafsh-e Shahbaz-e-Talayi) with open wings. The current belief is that this was the official symbol of Iran under Cyrus the Great and his heirs.Shahbaz literally means "royal falcon".[1][2] Burton considered it to refer to the Goshawk, Accipiter gentilis.[1] "shahbaz" may also refer to the eastern imperial eagle which is known as imperial eagle (Persian: عقاب شاهی‎) which is the second largest (after the golden eagle) eagle in Iran.

Good condition overall