Hippocampus Pin

This hippocampus brooch was inspired by a piece from the Lydian Hoard. With the head of a horse, the tail of a fish, and the wings of a bird it calls to mind earth, sea, and sky. The Lydian Hoard was discovered in a 6th Century BCE burial site in what is today Turkey. It held 363 precious artifacts. First found by looters in 1966, it was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum in NYC and kept locked up for 20 years. Not long after it was put on display, Turkey requested that it be returned. Turkey had to sue, and finally in 1993, the Met, red faced, returned the hoard to Turkey only to have some of the pieces stolen from a Turkish museum and replaced by fakes around 2005! Sometimes the history of what happens to ancient hoards AFTER they are discovered is more convoluted than its original history. 

There is a great article in the Smithsonian Magazine by Sharon Waxman called- "Chasing the Lydian Hoard" that can be found here.