[ΚΕΝΟ]



Gold chain with leaf-shaped attachments

Χ-Α337
Metal (Gold)
Intact
Length: 7.1 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
Description
Gold ornament with seven leaf-shaped pendants attached to a chain at irregular intervals. The chain has a suspension loop at the top, a detail showing that it was part of a larger ornament, perhaps a diadem. Making the ornament would have required fine work and precise planning when preparing the gold sheets for the pendants and the wire of the chain. The latter is a loop-in-loop chain, formed of a series of oval loops which were first soldered individually and then woven into a chain. The ornament comes from the Mochlos cemetery, where a very large number of gold ornaments has been found in Early Minoan tombs.
Bibliography:
Branigan, K. Aegean Metalwork of the Early and Middle Bronze Age. Oxford, 1974, 41-42, 89-96, 186. Evely, D. Minoan Crafts. Tools and Techniques. An Introduction. Volume II. Jonsered, 2000, 404-410, 418-421. Seager, R.B. Explorations in the Island of Mochlos. Boston and New York, 1912, 32, fig. 10:II.35, 11:II.35
Author:
E. S.


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