Sarmatian Diadem, 1st century AD, Scythian Culture,

Found at the Khokhlach kurgan burial mount, Novocherkassk, Russia,

The diadem consists of three hinged parts, the whole surface inlaid with garnet and glass. In the center is an amethyst bust of a woman wearing a tunic and crowned with a gold wreath inlaid with almandine.

The upper edge of the diadem is decorated with a figurative frieze representing a ritual scene of sacred animals processing towards the Tree of Life. The lower edge is decorated with pendants bearing rosettes rimmed with gold beads, pearls and small plaques.

This diadem is a typical example of the eclectic art which combed both Classical features and elements of Sarmatian art. It was intended for ritual use and was associated with the cult of fertility.

Gold, amethyst quartz, almandines, garnets, turquoise, coral, glass, pearls, resinous mass.

H. 15 cm.; L. 61 cm.

Frozen in Time: A 30-Million-Year-Old Marvel!

This 'praying' mantis is perfectly preserved within a flawless piece of Dominican amber from the Oligocene period—dating back an astonishing 23 to 33.9 million years.

The amber itself derives from the extinct Hymenaea protera, a prehistoric leguminous tree. Most amber found in Central and South America comes from its resin.

Amber from the Dominican Republic is known as Dominican resin, which is noted for its clarity.

Locked in nature's time capsule, every delicate detail from its slender legs to its fragile antennae remains intact, as if it were paused mid-movement all those millions of years ago.

British nesting birds. 1910. Cover.