Hellenistic brooch from the Zelenskiy barrow, Kuban [d/b]

Gold, blue and green enamel, garnet, diam. 6.5 cm

“The gold brooch from the Zelenskiy Kurgan is decorated in the center with a carved garnet satyr head, along the edge with a frieze of flowers and palmettes and a meander, and has a two-needle device: this feature becomes characteristic of brooches of 3rd century BCE – 1st century CE, distributed mainly in the Kuban region and on the Taman Peninsula. Being the earliest example in this series, the find from the Zelensky mound is evidence of the genesis of this type of brooch in the Asian Bosporus.” [M. Treister]

The Hermitage collection