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Casting Finger Rings in Mycenaean Times: Two Unpublished Moulds at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 June 2011

Eleni Konstantinidi-Syvridi  and
Maria Kontaki
Eleni Konstantinidi-Syvridi
Affiliation:
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Maria Kontaki
Affiliation:
National Archaeological Museum, Athens
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Abstract

The recording of two unpublished moulds in the storeroom of the Prehistoric Collections of the National Archaeological Museum, Athens, presented here, provide the stimulus for a re-examination of the construction method of the bezeled/signet rings of Mycenaean times. The moulds, one of semi-cylindrical shape and the other rectangular, belong to a limited class of items from Crete, Mainland Greece, and Enkomi, Cyprus.

It is possible that such moulds have served for the construction of the wax model of the artefacts, in the lost wax technique and not directly for the cast of gold, since the very construction of them, which is time-consuming and necessitates the skills of specialized craftsmen, indicates that they did not serve for a single use but rather for several uses. On the other hand, even steatite, the stone mostly used for such moulds, cannot adhere to continuous pressure to high temperatures, necessary for casting gold.

Στην παρούσα μελετη καταγράφονται δύο αδημοσίευτες μήτρες από την αποθήκη της Προϊστορικής Συλλογής του Εθνικού Αρχαιολογικού Μουσείου στην Αθήνα, προσφέροντας το ερέθισμα για μία επανεξέταση της τεχνικής κατασκευής των δακτυλιδιών με σφενδόνη της Μυκηναϊκής εποχής. Οι μήτρες, από τις οποίες η μία είναι ημικυλινδρική και η άλλη ορθογώνια, ανήκουν σε μία περιορισμένη τάξη ευρημάτων, που προέρχονται από την Κρήτη, την Ηπειρωτική Ελλάδα και την Έγκωμη της Κύπρου.

Είναι πιθανό ότι αυτές οι μήτρες να χρησιμοποιήθηκαν για την κατασκευή των κέρινων εκμαγείων των δακτυλιδιών κατά την τεχνική του «χαμένου κεριού» και όχι για την απευθείας χύτευση χρυσού. Η ίδια η κατασκευή τους, που προϋποθέτει πολύ χρόνο και ειδικευμένους τεχνίτες, υποδεικνύει ότι δεν χρησιμοποιήθηκαν μόνο για μία φορά. Από την άλλη πλευρά, ακόμη και ο στεατίτης, ο λίθος που κατεξοχήν χρησιμοποιήθηκε για την κατασκευή αυτών των αντικειμένων, δεν θα μπορούσε να αντέξει τις υψηλές θερμοκρασίες, που απαιτούντοα για την χύτευση του χρυσού σε διαδοχικές χρήσεις.

Type
Articles
Information
Annual of the British School at Athens , Volume 104 , November 2009 , pp. 311 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © The Council, British School at Athens 2009

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