Scythian Rhyton from the Louvre Museum

 Salvete Omnes,

a short entry today:
the Louvre Museum graciously made available on their website a collection  of photographs of one highly unusual silver rhyton. 
Allegedly this artwork comes from the Pontic steppe - Crimea and/or Kherson area etc - and was acquired by the museum in 1960s.
The vessel, shaped like a head of a wild boar, is decorated with some highly unusual art showing the Pontic Scythians and their horse in full tack. 
This work has never been seen by me and upon doing some research  I came upon some scholars who question its alleged origin  - the IV century BC. My friend and scholar dr Patryk Skupiniewicz, when asked, also was highly skeptical about this rhyton's origin. 
But the figures are quite splendid and beautiful, so let us enjoy this art for what it is prima facie  

the images are posted under the  Louvre  copyright as per their terms and conditions - 4.1.1 & 4.1.2.

Valete

Persian horse bits in my sketches and rhytons from Armenia

Salve,
I have been playing with some pen  drawings of the  horse bits of the Achaemenid and Sassanian Persia.

First sketch  is a rather frivolous interpretation, the historic bit is an actual find from Greece, evidenced in the Alexander mosaic (  mossaic  ). In this drawing of a  horse bit from the Achaemenid period (a sample of the actual Apadana Persepolis  horse bridle I gave on this blog here http://dariocaballeros.blogspot.com/2010/01/annus-novus.html ), the two long cheek pieces  end  with a calf head, like in the Vouni treasure, Cyprus.  achemenet Vouni_Treasure

Second sketch (titled sketch I)  is of a Sassanian cub-bit ( shown in this example of Sassanian metal plate   https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7v4GX8hMMl3zb_1LG5-wA8VJcfMghbPAzG0QXzJ5FKb9oRxcbfKzjNvzlkBsAbCX_dYFnN4tbT_BO07FTapuheqB8sizhWS0oIkukRXjQsE8YYS_4A1wCLxNznLYijgWNYY-mwUhe4rSP/s1600-h/persian+plate+inter.jpeg  ) and two horse heads with a device, that had been used along with a snaffle-bit, in a from of a metal cavesson-like device attached to the headstall, going over the nose and under the chin.

Finally the above amazing Achaemenid rhyton (  wikipedia Rhyton ) from the 'Fortress of Blood' aka Arin Berd (Erebuni   Erebuni_Fortress ) in Armenia (Urartu),  its picture  found at wikimedia Achaemenid_Goblet_Erebuni
shall become my next 'serious' reconstruction attempt, along with another Erebuni  rhyton with a horse  Achaemenid Goblet02  , and also some terracotta horse-shaped vessels from Achaemenid Village (Susa) dated to the V century BCE/BC.