Ca. 500 BC.A beautiful pair of hinged bracelets made of hollow shanks formed of gold sheets. Each with a round-section body with terminals in the shape of snakeheads decorated with elaborate coiled and circular motifs. Excellent condition. The Achaemenid Empire (the first Persian empire) was an ancient empire founded by Cyrus the great and stretching from the Balkans and Eastern Europe to the Indus Valley and covering 5.5 million square kilometers at its height. This empire is also famous for being the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian wars.Size: L:70.4-72.2mm / W:61-64.1mm ; 59.26gProvenance: Property of a London Ancient Art Gallery; formerly in the famous Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister; acquired between early 1960s to 1990s.