This silver appliqué of a lion attacking a stag, one of a perfectly preserved pair, dates to fourth-century B.C. Thrace and is thought to have decorated a harness. The horns and the spots of the stag and the mane of the lion are gilded. Appliqués—metal objects attached to clothing, armor and leather—were mainly used for decoration, but Thracian warriors believed some appliquéd images provided divine protection.
Recent excavations have shed considerable light on ancient Thrace, a region spanning modern Bulgaria, northern Greece, western Turkey and most of Romania. This appliqué was discovered at Lukovit, Bulgaria. The Thracians never developed a written language, so what we know comes from the gold and silver luxury items the Thracians left behind and from foreign literary sources, such as Homer’s Iliad. These sources indicate that the Thracians were known throughout the ancient world as fierce fighters and splendid horsemen; in the fifth century B.C., for example, Herodotus warned that were the Thracians to unify under a single ruler, they would “be far the mightiest of all people on earth.”
Thrace lacked a strong central government for much of its history. Instead, it was made up of small chiefdoms. Thrace was the home of large gold and silver deposits, timber reserves and wheat fields, all of which attracted Greek colonists as early as the second millennium B.C. Thrace’s strategic position on the Bosporus Strait was responsible for much of its wealth—and contributed to the eventual end of its autonomy. Thrace controlled trade between the Greek and Roman West and the Asiatic East, and its kings and chiefs levied high taxes on goods passing through Thracian territories. Roman frustration with that situation eventually led Emperor Claudius to defeat the disorganized Thracian tribes and establish the vassal province of Thracia in 46 A.D.
The appliqué is part of Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Thracians, Treasures from the Republic of Bulgaria, an exhibit organized by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria. It tours the United States through August 29, 1999.
This silver appliqué of a lion attacking a stag, one of a perfectly preserved pair, dates to fourth-century B.C. Thrace and is thought to have decorated a harness. The horns and the spots of the stag and the mane of the lion are gilded. Appliqués—metal objects attached to clothing, armor and leather—were mainly used for decoration, but Thracian warriors believed some appliquéd images provided divine protection. Recent excavations have shed considerable light on ancient Thrace, a region spanning modern Bulgaria, northern Greece, western Turkey and most of Romania. This appliqué was discovered at Lukovit, Bulgaria. The Thracians never developed […]
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