Etruscan Gold Brooch with a Bow in the Form of a Winged Chimaera

There are a number of surviving examples of this type of gold brooch, popular in Etruria towards the end of the sixth century BC.

This brooch is decorated with a chimaera (a beast composed of parts of various animals), with the head of a lion and another of a goat behind it, mounted on wings stemming from the lion's chest and linked at the top to form its neck. The chimaera was a popular beast in Etruscan mythology

The brooch is made from gold sheet with the lion made in two halves which have been pressed into a mould and soldered together lengthwise down its body.

Etruscan, 525-500 BC Found in Italy, London British Musuem