CIRCA 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Scythian gold torques take many forms, ranging from simple pennanular rings to elaborate spiral hoops ornamented along their lengths and finished with animal-form terminals (for a pennanular torque see no. 226, no. 9a in Parzinger, et al., Im Zeichen Des Goldenen Greifen: Königsgräber Der Skythen; for an elaborate one see p. 263, no. 2a). The massive scale of the present example suggests that it was not designed to be worn, and so more likely served as a votive offering to a deity. The quantity of the gold required for this torque indicates the high status of its ancient owner. The form but not the scale is exactly matched by the torque with plain terminals from the hoard of Scythian gold found at Vettersfelde in Germany in 1882 (see p. 324, no. 6 in Parzinger, op. cit.).