**Originally Listed At $1750** Ancient Greece, ca. 480 to 450 BCE. A cast leaded-bronze attachment, perhaps to adorn a situla handle, in the shape of a lion s head depicted in bas relief with triangular ears, bulging eyes, pronounced brows and a large snout, flat on the reverse. The top is concave and has a horizontal drill hole to attach the ring-handle of the situla. Lions are often the stars of ancient Greek stories, such as the Nemean lion, and it is probable that the sculptor of this piece saw lions in real life: Aristotle and Herodotus tell us that lions lived in the Balkans and Greece until around the 1st century BCE! Comes with custom mount. Size: 2.875" L x 2.125" W (7.3 cm x 5.4 cm) Cf. A.P. Kozloff (ed.), Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection, exhibition catalogue, Cleveland Museum of Art 1981 (Cleveland 1981) 136 ff., nos. 114-115 (style) with illustration. For an example with preserved situla handle, Cf. J. Biers, A Peaceable Kingdom. Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg collection, Part VI (Mainz 2004) 42, no. 44 with illustration. Provenance: private Swiss collection of F.H.; ex-private W. Rosenbaum collection, Ascona, Switzerland, acquired before 1984 All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids. We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience. #124148品相报告: Restoration or in-fill material to a few petite areas of face, with resurfacing and overpainting along new material. Normal surface wear commensurate with age, with several petite spalls, and softening to some finer details on lions face. Gorgeous green patina throughout.