Central Asia, Silk Road, AE bracteate, Bactrian camel

SOLD

Fascinating and quite rare bronze (AE) bracteate-type piece, very much in the visual language of Silk Road–era local issues from Central Asia (4th–8th century AD)

Cast or struck from a simple die on a thin flan; reverse shows mirror-negative impression

Stable dark brown patina with some encrustation and mineral accretions

Features a large camel with two humps, sloping neck, and short legs — this strongly resembles a Bactrian camel in profile

The design style is schematic, almost abstract, with rounded reliefs – consistent with steppe or Central Asian local workshop products that simplified forms into near-geometric shapes.

Such pieces appear along the Silk Road corridor — Bactria, Sogdiana, northern Afghanistan, southern Uzbekistan — typically dated to the late Kushano-Sasanian or early Hephthalite period (ca. 4th–6th century AD).

Bracteate-style thin bronzes are often locally cast tokens or ceremonial discs rather than circulating coins

The Bactrian camel motif was common in art and sometimes on coins of the region, symbolizing trade and prosperity

0.37 g. Choice XF. RARE

A piece of ancient Central Asian history at a bargain price! 😊

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