Disc with Running Dogs Surmounting a Mountain Goat in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, July 2010

Disk with running dogs surrounding a mountain goat, 1st–3rd century a.d.
Caucasus region
Bronze
D. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1921 (21.166.1)

This bronze disk with a rectangular loop in the back is a unique piece possibly from the Caucasus region. There are no known excavated parallels, but it was acquired by the Museum along with other objects that probably originated in the Republic of Georgia.

A raised striated circle surrounds the edge of the disk. Inside this frame are four dogs in running position. The dogs have collars formed by the same technique as the frame. In the center of the disk is a relief image of a mountain goat with its legs folded underneath. The goat's horns are displayed frontally, making the identification of the animal indisputable. The horns of the goat are striated like the frame and the dogs' collars, visually linking the elements of the disk and each other.

Similar dogs and goats are known from Georgian belt clasps suggesting the attribution of this disk to the first to third centuries A.D. Collared dogs, however, are unusual in the art of the Caucasus.


Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/21.166.1