Heraklion Archaeological Museum - CollectiveAccess System : Gold/silver objects : Gold signet ring [Χ-Α765]

Gold signet ring

Χ-Α765

Metal (Gold)

Intact

Bezel length: 3.1 cm. Bezel width: 2 cm. Hoop diameter: 1.9 cm.

Praisos

Photoula

Late Bronze Age. Postpalatial period, Late Minoan IIIC period.:

1200 - 1070 BC:

Gallery:

Case:

126

Exhibition thematic unit:

Late Bronze Age - Postpalatial period (1300-1100 BC). Settlements. Sanctuaries. Tombs

Description

Ornate gold ring with filigree and granulated decoration. The hoop of the ring is grooved and adorned with rows of twisted wire. The decoration of the oval bezel is very symmetrical on the horizontal and vertical axis, with antithetical spiral motifs in filigree and microscopic gold spheres attached to the surface. The edge of the bezel is surrounded by a wire with a row of granules on either side. This exquisite ring from Photoula in Praisos comes from a tholos tomb. It was found next to the left hand of a man inhumed in a clay larnax, who appears to have been of noble family, as he was accompanied by other valuable objects.

Bibliography:

Effinger, M. Minoischer Schmuck. BAR International Series 646. Oxford, 1996, 14, 291-292. Platon, Ν. "Ανασκαφαί περιοχής Πραισού." Πρακτικά της εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογικής Εταιρείας (1960): 294-307, pl. 244β,γ. Rethemiotakis, G. "Ring." In M. Andreadaki-Vlazaki, G. Rethemiotakis, N. Dimopoulou-Rethemiotaki (eds), From the Land of the Labyrinth. Minoan Crete, 3000 - 1100 B.C., New York, 2008, 181.

Author:

E. S.

Photographs' metadata