Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.

This dynamic appliqué is embossed from reverse with chased details. Loops of wire are soldered on to the back, to fasten the appliqué in place, most probably to clothing. The boar was a popular image in Achaemenid art, associated with virility, strength, and physical prowess.

This dynamic appliqué of a running wild boar is embossed from reverse with chased details. The rippling hide of the animal is represented by crosshatching, and the intricate details of the boar's expression (the bared tusks, the fierce stare) aresensitively executed. Loops of wire are soldered on to the back to fasten the appliqué in place, most probably to clothing. Images from the royal hunt (horses, warriors, lions, boars, etc.) were often used as decorative motifs. The boar was a powerful image in Achaemenid art, associated with virility, strength, physical prowess and the destructive forces of nature.

GHIRSMAN R., The Arts of Ancient Iran, From its Origins to the Time of Alexander the Great, New York, 1964, p. 266, n. 326 (applique en or en forme de lion); p. 380-381 (différentes appliques achéménides en or).