No. 336. A Bracelet of Gold. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.
MASSIVE GOLDEN BRACELET.
Highly interesting is also the very heavy, massive, golden bracelet, which I represent under No. 336. In remarkable contrast with the size of the signet-rings, it is so enormously large that it would fit on the loins of an ordinary man. It is ornamented with vertical strokes between two margins formed by two circular bands; and further with a beautiful flower of gold, which is not soldered directly on the bracelet, but is fastened with a silver pin to a plate of the same metal, and this latter is soldered on the ring. The silver plate, part of which is broken off all round, appears to have represented four flowers, and there are signs of its having been plated with copper, which has no doubt been plated with gold; because, as I have before stated, the Mycenean goldsmiths did not know the art of plating silver with gold.
The two bodies which are turned with the head to the east, whose faces were covered with gold masks, had also the breasts covered with large golden breast-plates. The one is of massive gold, but without any ornamentation; the other is of a much thinner gold plate and decorated with a repoussé work of two borders of small circles, within which are five rows of shield-like ornaments with concentric circles. This latter breast-cover has, at each of its extremities, a hole for fastening it to the body. Close to the head of another body, I found the beautiful golden crown (στέμμα, No. 337), but it must be distinctly understood that it is represented here head downward, because to that side which is shown here as the lower, were attached, with very small pins, of which six can be seen, a number of leaves, a few of which still remain; and if, therefore, the crown had been put round the head as it is shown here, the leaves would have hung over the eyes, which can never have been the case.[310] Thus, this crown had on its upper side the leaves, and on its lower a small border with small oblique strokes, the intervening space being filled up in the middle with three rosettes, intersected by vertical rows of very small shield-like circles, and at both ends with similar circles or with larger ones. At each extremity, there is a very small perforation, through which the crown was fastened by means of a thin gold wire. This crown resembles the one already shown (see No. 281), but its ornamentation is much less sumptuous.
No. 337. A splendid Crown of Gold found close to the head of one of the bodies in the fourth Sepulchre. Size 1:4, about.
