Persian Snarling Lion Roundel

Iran: Ecbatana (?); Achaemenid Period; Reign of Artaxerxes II, ca. 404-359 B.C. Gold. Purchased in New York, 1948. "This snarling winged lion worked in gold repoussÃ© attests to the exceptional skill of Achaemenid goldsmiths. The back of the horned feline's body and the slender twisted cord that surrounds it bear sixteen tiny loops for attachment to a garment or textile. Greek writers often speak of the tremendous wealth of the Persians, and Herodotus writes that King Xerxes' troops "were adorned with the greatest magnificence...they glittered all over with gold, vast quantitites of which they wore about their persons" (vii.83)."