• Gold spray of leaves



Gold spray of leaves
Gold spray of leaves
Gold spray of leaves

Gold spray of leaves

Χ-Α319
Metal (Gold)
Intact
Max. Length of leaf and stem: 7 cm.
Mochlos
Cemetery, Tomb ΙΙ (from Tomb Complex Ι/ΙΙ/ΙΙ)
Early Bronze Age. Prepalatial period. Early Minoan ΙΙ- ΙΙΙ period:
2700-2000 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 in the shape of a spray of four leaves resembling olive leaves. Each leaf is individually made with its wire stem. The hammered foil leaves have an border of carefully applied repoussé dots, the work of a skilled and experienced artisan. The stems are twisted together into a single wire which may have been attached to a composite diadem. The gold olive leaves were found with a plethora of gold ornaments in Tomb II, the richest tomb in the Mochlos cemetery. Due to the burial practices of the period, which involved moving the remains and the accompanying grave goods, the gold ornaments cannot be associated with specific individuals; however, the latter belonged to a particularly powerful group of the Mochlos community, a group which engaged in intensive and systematic commercial activity or at least enjoyed the fruits of this maritime trade.
Bibliography:
Seager, R. B. 1912. Explorations in the Island of Mochlos. Boston and New York: American School of Classical Studies at Athens. Vasilakis, A. 1996. Ο Χρυσóς και ο Άργυρος στην Κρήτη κατά την Πρώιμη Περίοδο του Χαλκού. Heraklion, Crete: Heraklion Municipality, Vikelaia Library. Hickman, J. 2008, Gold Before the palaces: Crafting jewelry and social identity in Minoan Crete, Pennsylvania. Soles, J. 1992. The Prepalatial Cemeteries at Mochlos and Gournia and the House Tombs of Bronze Age Crete. Hesperia Suppl. 24, Princeton. K. Branigan, 1991. Mochlos-An Early Aegean "Gateway Community"? In: R. Laffineur & L. Basch (eds.), Thalassa: L' Egée Préhistorique et la mer: actes de la troisième rencontre égéeenne internationale de l' Université de Liège. Aegaeum 7, Liège, 97-105. Legarra Herrero, B. 2018 Gold, conspicuous consumption and prestige – a relationship in need of review. The case of Early and Middle Bronze Age Crete, in: Armada X.-L., Murillo-Barroso, M. and Charlton, M. (eds). Metals, Minds and Mobility: Integrating Scientific Data with Archaeological Theory.Oxford, Oxbow books. 107-119.
Author:
I. G.


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