1st millennium BC. A group of three sheet-gold on bronze square plaques each with repoussé beaded border and mounting hole to each corner, repoussé standing figure with arms raised and hands spread flanked by two profile wolves(?"). 14.53 grams total, 32mm each (1 1/4"). Property of a London gentleman; previously with Boisgirard Antonini, Paris, sale 4, lot 36; formerly with Mahboubian Gallery, London, UK; acquired before 1972; accompanied by a copy of the relevant Boisgirard Antonini catalogue pages. The motif of the man-between-beasts has been used in Western Asiatic and European art since the 2nd millennium BC or earlier. Opinions of scholars vary as to whether the figure is a human or a god, whether the beasts are friendly (his hunting hounds) or inimical (attacking wolves) and whether he is a hero facing danger or subduing the natural world. The motif transformed in medieval Europe into the figure of 'Daniel in the Lions Den' with a Christian context. See Pollington, S., Kerr, L. & Hammond, B. Wayland's Work: Anglo-Saxon Art, Myth & Material Culture from the 4th to 7th century, Ely, 2010 for discussion of the motif in Northern European art. [3]