Fibulae. # 1. Greek.

[benito]

Question to Jfiat500       or other experts .
Is the description right.

Silver fibula. 5th c. BC. 4,3 cms h. Single piece construction terminated in a stylized ram's head.Incised design on the outer facet of the bow and on the square catchplate,beyond which the pin turns in a u-shape with the ram's head at the terminal with stylized nose and mouth.Fine coiled antlers from a separate piece of wire applied to the crown of the ram's head.

[Jay GT4]

It's a great piece but unfortunately I've never seen one of these before...

[SC]

Benito,

I have never seen a parallel either.

I did some digging though. 

The foot curved towards the bow looks like the La Tene I or La Tene A period.

Sure enough the closest parallels I could find come from a book on Etrurian fibulae.  In Pierro Guzzo's "La Fibule in Etruria"  one with the same animal head on the curved foot are known as La Tene A fibula type "test d'uccello".  Your Italian is probably much better than mine but I translate that to Bird head.

The reinforces the first thought that came into my mind - that it is more like a bird head - specifically duck - than a ram.

They are Guzzo's type Beta.  However, none of his three sub-types are quite the same as yours.

Interestingly he dates them to 5th-4th c BC.

Do you know where it is from?

Etrurian/North Italic fibulae types were widely copied in Illyria and the Dalmatian Coast and sometimes appear in the inner Balkans too.

Shawn

[benito]

No idea. Seller ,Ancient Art ,only mentioned greek. Have seen similar among the Boston Museum catalogue for bronzes.
The general type is not rare. The scythians had something of the type.
One of those whims when you collect antiquities.A fibula here, a lamp there,a scarab . My big collection is precolumbian. Possibly one day  I'll post a pic
with one of my specimens and some high end roman coins.
.