Prometopidion or Forehead Ornament from a Horse Trapping of Greek-Hellenistic Type

Decorated in repoussé, this bridle nose piece (or prometopidion) of a horse-trapping is raised from a single sheet of silver. The relief was originally held on a setting. Holes for rivets and the impression made by the fold of the setting are still visible. At the bottom are two larger rivet holes made for repairs.

This type of ornament is known from the Hellenized East. The unusual decoration of the piece, however, combines Greek, Achaemenid, and central Asian Parthian elements. In the center is a siren of the type found on Classical Greek handle attachments on metal vessels. Above that in a field framed by an astragal is an Achaemenid-style sphinx, or Lamassu (an Assyrian protective deity, often depicted as having a human head, the body of an ox or a lion, and the wings of an eagle). Beneath the siren an eagle attacks a stag, a motif derived from the nomadic-central Asian animal style.

Although the type of the prometopidion is derived from Greek-Hellenistic prototypes, the choice of themes is in keeping with nomadic-Parthian ideas and suggests a non-Greek Parthian patron. The object reveals the survival and development of Hellenistic traditions of form in the field of metalware under foreign, non-Greek rule. The blend of traditions narrows the location of the workshop most likely to Hellenized Iran.