Early 1st century BC. A gilt discoid phalera hammered from a single piece of silver, five armed warriors in high-relief dressed in Greek military dress, each a heavy horse archer as indicated by their heavy armour and gorytos slung across the back, arms protected by articulated cheira similar to Ai Khanum types, helmets mainly of Graeco-Pontic or Eastern Celtic types, only one of the archers wearing a scale cuirass. See Nikonorov, V.P., The armies of Bactria 700BC-450 AD, Stockport, 1997; ?????????, ?. ?., '????? ??????????? ??????? ?? ????????? ??????' (Sarmatian Age Helmets from Eastern Europe), in Stratum Plus, n.4, 2014, pp.249-284; D'Amato R. and Negin, A., Roman Heavy Cavalry (1), Cataphractarii and Clibanarii, 1st century BC-5th century AD, Oxford, 2018.152 grams, 15.6cm (6 ¼“"). Ex Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1990s; accompanied by an expertise dated 4 July 2019 from Striptwist Ltd, a London-based company run by historical precious metal specialist Dr Jack Ogden, reference number 190702, and by a report by military expert Dr. Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no. 10531-171769. The object was hammered from a single piece of silver and worked by the traditional repoussé technique. This phalera comes from the North Pontic region, and was used with all probability as a decoration on the higher part of the horse harness, like the phalerae visible on the armoured and unarmoured horses of the famous graffiti of Dura Europos representing Parthian, Palmyrene or Roman clibanarii (D’Amato-Negin, 2018, pp.11,16-17,26"). There are no visible attachment holes or loops, but two parts of the disk circumference are damaged indicating the possibility that the phalera was probably applied to another disk forming a part of the horse harness. [A video of this lot is available to view on TimeLine Auctions website.]