Bidspirit auction | Large Scythian Mirror with Lion

Large Scythian Mirror with Lion and Stag - 5th-4th century BC A bronze mirror, Scythian-Olbian type, with oval face with reflective surface; handle with reclining stag with large antlers back along the body; fluted column below with standing feline to the base. 750 grams, 33.6cm (13 1/4”). Very fine condition. Extremely rare. Provenance Property of a European gentleman; formerly acquired on the German art market before 1980. Literature Cf. Trofimova, A. Greeks on the Black Sea: ancient art from the Hermitage, J. Paul Getty Museum, 2007, item 29j. See Leypunskaya, N. A. Olbian-Scythian Trade: Exchange Issues in the Sixth to Fourth Centuries BC, Oxford, 2007, for discussion. Footnotes The so-called 'Olbian type' mirror is named after the Greek city Olbia, which appears to have had a dynamic commercial exchange with the Scythian world between the sixth and fourth centuries BC. The Olbian mirrors are recognised as central to this trade network and their origin has been widely discussed by the academic community. It remains disputed whether the mirrors were made by Scythians near the river Dnieper, or whether they were Olbian. Leypunskaya (2007) suggests that Olbian bronze-work, including these mirrors, was created for trade with Scythians, drawing on popular animal-style designs to target a Scythian audience.