The Mycenean goldsmith evidently did not understand the art of plating silver with gold, for, whenever he had to do it, he first plated the silver with copper, and then plated the copper with gold. He has done so with this silver cow-head, whose mouth, eyes and ears he had to plate, and, therefore, he first plated them with copper and then plated the copper with gold. On the mouth the gold plating is very well preserved, but from the eyes and ears it has almost entirely disappeared. There can be no doubt that this cow-head was intended to represent the goddess Hera, the patron deity of Mycenæ.
There were also found here thirty-five cowheads of very thin gold plate, like Nos. 329 and 330, which have a double axe between the horns. Six of these heads are quite well preserved; the other twenty-nine are all more or less mutilated. I also collected a great quantity of fragments of similar cowheads.
Nos. 329, 330. Two Golden Cow-heads with double axes. Actual size.
I shall discuss hereafter the symbol of the double axe, which occurs repeatedly in these tombs. I would here call particular attention to the three cowheads with long horns, two of which are of gold, and one seemingly of silver, which figure among the offerings in the wall paintings of an Egyptian tomb in Thebes, conserved in the British Museum; the two of gold are brought by Asiatics on golden vases, whilst the silver cow-head is offered by Egyptians. I further call attention to Mr. G. A. Hoskins's 'Travels in Æthiopia,' p. 330, where a copy is given of a wall painting of a tomb in Thebes, representing a grand procession, in which, among other presents, are rings and four cowheads with long horns, seemingly all of gold.
HEAP OF SWORDS AND LANCES.
In further excavating from east to west I struck a heap of more than twenty bronze swords and many lances. Most of the former had had wooden sheaths and handles inlaid with wood, of which numerous remnants could be seen. Lying all along and in the heap of swords I found a large quantity of round plates of gold with beautiful intaglio work, and remnants of flat round pieces of wood, which had once, in unbroken series, adorned both sides of the sword-sheaths. The largest plate was at the broad end of the sheath, the smallest at the opposite extremity. The wooden handles of the swords had likewise been ornamented with large round plates, covered with rich intaglio work. The remaining space has been studded with gold pins, and gold nails can be seen in the large alabaster or wooden hilt-knobs of the swords. On and around the swords and the remnants of the sheaths could be seen a great quantity of fine gold-dust, which can leave no doubt that the handles and sheaths had also been gilded.
Some of the lance-shafts seemed to be well preserved, but they crumbled away when exposed to the air. Unfortunately the skulls of the five bodies were in such a state of decomposition that none of them could be saved; the two bodies with the head to the north had the face covered with large masks of gold-plate in rude repoussé work, one of which, unfortunately, has been so much injured in the funeral fire and by the heavy weight of the stones and débris, and, besides, the ashes stick so firmly to it, that it was impossible to get a good photograph of it. However, by looking at it for some minutes, one gets a tolerable idea of the features. It represents a large oval youthful face with a high forehead, a long Grecian nose, and a small mouth with thin lips; the eyes are shut, and the hairs of both eyelashes and eyebrows are well marked.
No. 331. Mask of Gold, found on the face of a body. Sepulchre IV. Size 1:3, about.