*A RARE WESTERN ASIAN GOLD/ELECTRUM PIN WITH SWASTIKA. Bactria, 3rd-2nd Millennium BCE L: 13.2 cm ; 14 gr. Provenance Swiss collection, acquired on the Parisian market, Binoche et Giquello, 30 May 2012, lot 96 In a very fine state of preservation, the shaft is topped with an openwork diamond-shaped section decorated with a swastika motif and spheres at the points. The swastika is an ancient symbol that appears across many cultures, including in Bactria, a historical region in Central Asia (covering parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan). In Bactrian art and artifacts, particularly from the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, the swastika often appears as a geometric or solar motif, associated with good fortune, cosmic order, or eternity—long before its later appropriation in the 20th century. (see British Museum, a seal with the swastika, 1947,0416.8) For Swiss buyers, VAT applies to the hammer price and buyer's premium (only for the lots with the * mention)