Ca. 500-300 BC. Scythian culture. A bronze fitting comprising an axe head-shaped body and two integral loops with zoomorphic decoration (perhaps a ram's head or a bird); good condition. Zoomorphic mounts were affixed to garments of clothing as decoration in patterns, with multiple mounts on a single item of clothing. Brilliant horsemen and great fighters, the Scythians were nomadic horsemen who ranged wide across the grasslands of the Asian steppe from the Altai mountains in the east to the Great Hungarian Plain between 900 and 200 BC. Their steppe homeland bordered on a number of sedentary states to the south - the Chinese, the Persians and the Greeks - and there were, inevitably, numerous interactions between the nomads and their neighbours. The Scythians fought the Persians on a number of occasions, in one battle killing their king and on another occasion driving the invading army of Darius the Great from the steppe. Relations with the Greeks around the shores of the Black Sea were rather different - both communities benefiting from trading with each other. This led to the development of a brilliant art style - exemplified by this exquisite piece of metalwork - often depicting scenes from Scythian mythology and everyday life. To find out more about the Scythians and their art, see Cunliffe, B. (2019). The Scythians: Nomad Warriors of the Steppe. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Size: L:70mm / W:38mm ; 28g. Provenance: From the collection of a gentleman based in London; formerly with a British gallery; acquired in the 1990s.