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Gold diadem with eyes

Χ-Α268
Metal (Gold)
Intact
Length: 29.5 cm. Maximum width: 3.5 cm.
Mochlos
Cemetery, Tomb ΙΙ
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period, Early Minoan ΙΙ - ΙII period.:
2600 - 2000 BC:
Gallery:
I
Case:
12
Exhibition thematic unit:
Early Bronze Age - Prepalatial period (3000 - 1900 BC). Settlements and cemeteries - the rise of ruling groups
For the dead. From personal event to communal practices
Description
Diadem made of a strip of gold with two eyes in repouss?. Three small holes in each end of the diadem were used to bind it around the head with wire or other material. Other holes in the surface were meant for attachments such as antennae or leaves, as we know from other examples. The diadem comes from the Mochlos cemetery, where a very large number of gold ornaments has been found in Early Minoan tombs. The fact that it is decorated with a pair of eyes has led to the hypothesis that all the diadems found in the tombs were intended for funerary use as death masks. However, with the exception of this example, the diadems are decorated with various themes and also bear traces of use. The open eyes would have had some symbolism but such diadems were almost certainly worn by their owners as ceremonial ornaments before being deposited in tombs.
Bibliography:
Davaras, C. "Early Minoan Jewellery from Mochlos." Annual of the British School at Athens 70 (1975): 101-114. Hickman, J. "The Dog Diadem from Mochlos." In P.P. Betancourt and S.C. Ferrence (eds), Metallurgy: Understanding How, Learning Why, Prehistory Monographs 29, Philadelphia, 2011, 91-103. Seager, R.B. Explorations in the Island of Mochlos. Boston and New York, 1912, 27, figs. 8:II5, 9:II5.
Author:
E. S.


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