Gold in Antiquity DR JACK OGDEN “The Cambridge Centre for Precious Metal Research (CCPMR), Cambridge, UK Ancient gold jewellery provides us with a great deal of information regarding the economies, cultural links, religious beliefs and social organisation of early societi widespread aspects of early jewellery, from sci discuss the purchase and use of jewellery. This review briefly di ancient and medieval times to form it into the finished products. Ancient goldsmiths and the technology employed ‘This type of information is obtained by combining the study of fic analysis of the materi: ‘used to the surviving papyri that usses the origin and use of gold, its composition and some ofthe factors that influenced jewellery art and design are also briefly considered. Gold and the archaeologist In the 16th century Michelangelo himself alluded to the considerable skills and artistic abilities of the ancient goldsmiths and these have been repeatedly demonstrated in more recent times in books and exhibitions. However, the serious study of ancient goldwork provides more than just glimpses of early aesthetics and technical skill, it also leads to insights into ancient economics, trade, religion and personal emotions, often in a more profound way than with most other categories of archaeological artefact. The near pristine condition of much long buried gold helps both scientific and aesthetic study and facilitates the archacologist’s job, which is to combine the diverse information’ in order to produce a fuller understanding of the goldwork and ultimately of the societies that made and wore it. In the early days of jewellery study the personal links with the past were stressed ~ Heinrich Schlie- mann digging at Troy and Mycenae believed he had found ‘Priam’s Treasure’ and the ‘Mask of Agamem- non’, Sir Arthur Evans in Crete came into the pos- session of the ‘Ring of Nestor’, while in Egypt Sir Flinders Petrie identified a gold ring, in fact quite probably fake, as the actual ring lost by a Roman prefect recorded as having been murdered in Egypt in the second century ab? Side by side with this desire to link finds with people or places known from the classical writers or the Bible, there was also a group of scientists interested in the materials and, to some extent, the technology. This division into two camps was first defined by the metallurgist Major H. Garland, who also had the distinction of being Lawrence of Arabia's explosives expert. Garland sagely noted that when the archaeologist touches some fragment ‘his thoughts go back to some beauti- ful queen with whom he has acquired a thorough ost-portem acquaintance, and visualises her placing the ornament round her royal neck’, whereas the ‘metallurgist presented with the same objects “is seized with a desire to open them up, to pry into their internal constitution and composition’.® Today, the © 1992 The Institute of Materials gulf between the art historian or archaeologist and the scientist has narrowed and any serious publication ‘on ancient jewellery will deal with all aspects of its style, likely history, assembly and composition.* ‘The watershed was quite probably the publication in 1924 of a catalogue to the collection of Egyptian gold jewellery then in the possession of the New York Historical Society. This publication was the first comprehensive catalogue to include, alongside the archaelogical information, a great deal of technical detail.® Since then our knowledge, and the scientific ‘means by which it can be obtained, has advanced in leaps and bounds; serious articles and books on ancient jewellery now almost inevitably include scan- ning electron micrographs and detailed major and often trace element analyses.° The ancient exploitation of gold Nuggets of gold would have attracted the attention of our ancestors from a very early period and it is, hardly surprising that simple gold ornaments are among the earliest metallic objects known. As time progressed, recovery techniques improved and simple hand sorting led to panning and eventually to highly efficient washing processes on a grand scale, Gold from placer or alluvial deposits has been exploited throughout history, but by the mid second millennium 1c, if not earlier, gold was also being recovered from veins followed deep into the ground along tortuous tunnels. Mining is not, and never has been, a pleasant ‘occupation and numerous ancient texts refer to the dreadful conditions at various mines, to the short life spans of the miners and to the tireless labour to which they were subjected. Some of the smaller mines were no doubt worked on a voluntary basis for economic incentives but, since states usually wanted tocontrol the mines’ output and to obtain a maximum yield, slaves, captives and the persecuted were often the main labour force. In Roman times, being sent to the mines was a punishment on a par with being sentenced to die in the arena. The main gold mining areas of antiquity were INTEROISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1982, OL. 17, NO. 3. 261widely spread across the ancient world, but by no means uniformly. Wars were waged and treaties struck in order to obtain the best access to gold and the influence of gold on history can hardly be under- estimated. It is not coincidence that the lands con- quered by Alexander the Great took in almost all the gold mines in the ancient Near East. Pre-eminent among these were the mines of Egypt's Eastern Desert and Nubia, the gold of western Turkey ~ the source of Croesus’s wealth — and the gold of Anatolia/ Armenia and even India. In the west, gold mining ‘areas included various parts of the Balkans, the Alps, Spain and Ireland, To the north east there was the gold of the Altai and Siberia, traded through the Greek colonies on the fringes of the Black Sea. Today’s industry claims a large proportion of world gold production, but this was not true in antiquity. ‘A few ancient gold implements are known, including cosmetic scoops and tweezers and even a number of gold bladed daggers and axes, but we can probably assume that here the choice of metal reflected its symbolic or economic value, rather than any practical considerations. Gold was too valuable in the Old World to be used for day to day objects ~ for example, the gold fish hooks once used by the natives of Brazil.’ The only real exceptions are the rare ancient examples of gold dental work, where loose or replace- ment teeth were held in position by gold wires or frameworks. Phoenician and early Italian examples have survived from around the middle of the first millennium ac. One example, from Italy, is shown in Fig. |. Jewish law debated whether gold teeth and dental work should be worn on the sabbath. The so called Law of the Twelve Tablets compiled in Rome during the fifth century Bc ruled that ‘gold, no matter in what form it may be present, shall, by all means, be removed from the corpse at the time of the funeral, but if anyone's teeth should be fastened with gold, it shall be lawful either to burn or bury it with the body’.* This law probably explains the remarkable lack of gold from early Roman burials in Italy The main uses of gold in the ancient world were for ornament and for amassing or distributing wealth. 1 Example of early dental work. Gold sheet and rivets have been used to secure two loose teeth. Italy, mid first millennium sc (Photo 262. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1952, OL. 17, NO. 3 Rulers and temples could accumulate huge treasures, though usually in the form of manufactured vessels, or other objects rather than gold bars. This gold could be kept as a sign of power and wealth, distrib- uted as gifts or as bribes, traded or, in times of need, recycled. To a lesser extent, the gold ornaments of the ordinary middle classes of the times would also have been seen as a way of keeping and revealing wealth. At times sumptuary laws tried to limit the gold owned by private individuals, but these were enforced only with difficulty against human greed and vanity, Gold would always have been a means of barter at the upper end of the economic scale, and gold objects were usually recorded by weight. This type of trading function was formalised in the mid first millennium Bc by the introduction of precious metal coinage. The circulation of gold coinage facilitated trade and also, as a byproduct, provided a means by which a reasonably well off person could obtain precious metal ~ in turn a convenient source of raw material for goldsmiths. Of course, the issuing of gold coinage by the state required control of both the weights of the coins and their purity. Composition of ancient gold ‘ornament can be placed into one of four categori @ native gold used “as found’ in the placer deposits ‘or mines @ native gold to which additional silver or copper has been added for practical or economic reasons © gold that has been refined © gold that has been refined and then debased by the addition of silver or copper, again for practical or economic reasons. In the earliest times gold was used as found in the alluvial or placer deposits and gold objects will thus, show a wide range of purities. Silver can be present in proportions of just 1-2%, or up to 25% or more. Gold with 25% or more silver present has a pale Jemon colour and is usually termed ‘electrum’. Copper is usually present in native gold in amounts of 2% or less, but this is not invariable. On the basis of analyses, it would seem that small amounts of copper ‘were sometimes deliberately added to native gold and lectrum by about 2000nc. Sensitive trace element analyses should allow us to distinguish gold with deliberate copper additions from native gold with naturally higher copper contents. Other trace elements found in gold include iron, sometimes tin and often traces of the platinum metals. Platinum itself is usually dissolved in the gold, but other members of the platinum family of metals such as ‘osmium, iridium and ruthenium often remain as small hard alloy inclusions in the gold.° By about 1400sc, large additions of copper (2: ‘or more) were sometimes made to gold. In the case ‘of some Egyptian signet rings of this period we can probably assume the resultant red colour was 5%2 Gold-silver-copper alloy signet ring bearing ‘the name of Akhenaton. Copper content is high enough (about 20%) to impart a distinctly reddish colour. Formerly Goodison Collection (Photo CCPMR Archive) favoured. The signet ring in Fig. 2 from the time of Akhenaton, and bearing his name, is a gold-silver- copper alloy with around 20% copper present.!° The same is true of some of the prehistoric European goldwork with high copper content. In other specific cases the copper addition was carried out for de- liberate aesthetic effect. Some of the magnificent Mycenaean copper alloy dagger blades have variously coloured gold and electrum inlays including lions with yellow gold bodies, but red gold manes. In some cases electrum was chosen for its colour contrast with gold — for example, some of Tutan- khamen’s jewellery has gold Sun discs but electrum Moon discs. Again, future analyses of the trace elements should allow us to distinguish natural from artificial electrum. Artificial electrum appears to have been used for some later coins, but post-Bronze Age use was probably limited — although silver-gold alloys, probably both natural and artificial, were used from an early period as solders for goldwork History of refining The refining of gold, that is a specific treatment to remove the silver and copper contents, was probably known in the ancient world from quite an early period. Certainly the colour of electrum would improve if it was repeatedly melted. More elaborate methods using salt or some sulphur compounds to remove the silver as chloride or sulphide might well have been noted early. By around 1400ac, if not earlier, we find documentary evidence for the recog- nition of the weight reduction of debased gold as a result of putting it through a furnace.’ However, there is no clear evidence that refining was common- place before the mid first millennium Bc and this might relate to the introduction of gold coinage around this time. As noted above, the minting and circulation of coins requires an overall standard- isation of purity. Once refining was generally used the decorative use of variously coloured golds disappeared. Perhaps once it was common knowledge what pure gold should look like, the aesthetic appeal of its coloured but debased variants lessened. It is only in the medi- eval European and Islamic worlds that we again find electrum and red gold alloys. The introduction and general adoption of gold refining did not mean that gold jewellery was from then on always made from high purity gold. Some high purity goldwork does exist ~ for example, some Roman goldwork, like the contemporary coinage, is over 99% pure ~ but much of the gold was debased, even if only to a small degree. Debasement can be carried out for economic, even fraudulent, reasons and for practical purposes. The addition of a few per cent of silver to gold noticeably increases its hardness and makes it more suitable for jewellery. Analyses being carried out by various laboratories around the world are gradually building up a picture of the purity of the gold used in antiquity. There are some chronological and geographical trends. Generally speaking, the gold jewellery from the Hellenistic Greek world (that is, after the time of Alexander the Great, from about 330 to 308c) and in the Roman period is 85-99% pure, and even the most debased of Roman alloys rarely descend as low as 75% gold (75% gold is the same as our 18 carat gold, considered “high purity’ by today’s industry). Gold of high purity found throughout the Hellenistic and Roman per- iods, but in both seems to show some debasement in purity as the period progresses. Gold was debased with silver more than with copper and, apart from the Egyptian, Mycenaean and European examples mentioned above, it is only in very rare cases that gold contains a copper content in excess of its silver content before medieval times. Following the Roman period, gold purity levels, remained quite high in the Byzantine East ~ around 92-96% is typical for jewellery — but Dark Age Europe saw a slide into considerable debasement. Here, seventh century aD ornaments can show gold contents of 65% or less. A whole range of gold alloys is found in medieval Europe and eventually the need for standardisation was realised. In the 13th and 14th centuries we find in England and France a standard of 80% gold (the so called “touch of Paris’). In 1477, England introduced the 18 carat standard, that is 18 parts in 24, or 75% pure, We can note that the use of the carat standard to define gold purities in Europe is hard to trace back before about the 14th century, but division of gold weights into 24 parts goes back to ancient Greece and our carat standard derives from the Byzantine gold solidus coin which was subdivided into 24 keratia. Possibly some of the Byzantine and even earlier gold with compositions that cluster around 92% was made to a deliberate standard — just like our 22 carat gold (91-7% gold). In some cases analyses of ancient goldwork can throw more light on individual classes of objects. For example, Fig. 3 illustrates a gold ring in the ITERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1992, VOL.17, NO.3 263Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. This ring is of a type of which just over a dozen examples are known, mostly found in the Rhineland. The inscriptions always state ‘Fidem Constantino’ and they are taken to be tokens of support for the Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century AD. It has been suggested that they were given by the emperor to loyal military commanders. Certainly the rings are man sized, but they are crudely made and a recent analysis of the example illustrated revealed that it was composed of gold of just 81:4% purity with 13-1% silver and 54% ‘copper. This is far lower than either the contemporary gold coinage or other gold jewellery of this period analysed so far. It is thus highly unlikely that these rings could have been supplied on imperial order or, indeed, represent any kind of official insignia. ‘Some work has been carried out on the lead isotope ratios present, which characterise the silver contents of ancient gold, and in general we might expect the trace rather than major elements to be the best guide to origin and refining history. However, trace elements are really only a useful marker of the origin of gold objects from a primitive society using gold from a single area. The same applies to modern industrial society where the gold is all refined and alloyed in a standardised manner. Throughout history gold has been continuously traded and recycled and thus homogeneity of minor alloy components within even a limited geographical and chronological span is rare. So far trace element analysis has really been of use only in the characterisation of goldwork pro- duced in Europe in the Bronze and early Iron Ages.'? Further analysis of Bronze Age goldwork from Feypt and the Near East would be of interest but, as always, the value of such analyses relies on a detailed knowledge of the mines themselves, Techniques of ancient goldsmiths The great variety of goldsmithing techniques used by the ancient and medieval craftsmen cannot be dis- cussed in any detail in a brief review article, but a few generalisations can be made.’ In general, the key to ancient goldworking technology tends to be simplicity of process combined with consummate skill. This is in contrast to the normal modem approach where precision equipment can allow almost anyone to produce accurate work. Ancient and medieval crafismen generally made their own, simple tools, and their goldwork was predominantly manufactured from sheet gold, cut and shaped to the desired form and, if required, decorated by filigree, granulation (small gold spheres) and other processes. Even quite massive objects, such as solid and sturdy finger rings and brooches, were generally made by hammering gold. Casting was rarely employed except in certain areas ~ such as in Iron Age Europe. Casting was certainly known and utilised in the ancient world from the early Bronze Age onwards, ‘264 INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1992, VL. 17, NO. 3 3. Gold alloy ring with inscription ‘Fidem Con- stantino’. Early fourth century ao. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge but seldom for gold. One of the reasons is the potential for waste —it is almost impossible to produce a mould to utilise a precisely defined weight of metal or to melt exactly the right amount of gold to fill a given mould. With modern mass production or in societies where gold was abundant, such worries were not important, but for much of the ancient Old World, where gold was expensive and often supplied by the customer for the goldsmith to work, such practical considerations were of paramount import ance. In Greek mythology Daedalus is credited with casting a honeycomb of gold ~ perhaps a garbled understanding of the origins of lost wax casting which typically employed beeswax. The avoidance of the casting of gold in the ancient Old World is less true among other so called primitive cultures. Most of the ‘exquisite pre-Columbian goldwork from Central and South America is cast. One of the largest examples of gold cast by the lost wax process is the African Ashanti head in the Wallace Collection, London shown in Fig. 4. This weighs around I'S kg and might have been one of the pair of gold masks that are said to have hung from the throne of a king of the Ashanti, If so, Fig. 4 sums up the dichotomy often encountered in art — between the modern viewer's aesthetic values and the maker's original intentions the heads were hung upside down from the throne and thus were actually intended to be seen inverted Returning to the ancient Old World, gold was at first simply hammered out with hand held stones — such as we see in some of the Egyptian wall paintings ~ and it was probably only in the course of the first millennium nc that hafted hammers came into general use. The production of sheet gold in rolling mills is probably a Renaissance invention and even then the process was uncommon until the 17th or 18th century. ‘Once hammered into sheet the gold could be cut, usually with a knife or small chisel — not shears before ‘medieval times ~ and then shaped in various ways, even pierced (Fig. 5). Simple designs could be impressed into sheet gold with the most rudimentary4 Gold mask cast by lost wax process. Ashanti, West Africa. Weight about 15kg. 17th-18th century Ab. Wallace Collection, London (Photo Werner Forman Archive) even wood and bone. The simple linear f pendants of tools decoration on the early Sumerian gold le . 3 tg 5 Pierced work gold necklet element. This fine, almost lacelike piercing is typical of early Byzantine work. Seventh century ao. British Museum, London (Photo CCPMR Archive) 6 Detail from necklet of lapis lazuli beads and sheet gold leaf pendants. Sumerian (Iraq). from royal burials at Ur. c 25008c. Fitzwill Museum, Cambridge in Fig. 6 would hardly tax the most novice of gold- smiths. Superb freehand work was carried out but the goldsmith could also use a variety of bronze Punches or dies to produce more complex and repro- ducible forms. The sheet gold funerary diadems of the Mycenaean Greeks, dating to the second half of the second millennium wc are good, early examples of the repetitive use of quite complex patterned Punches or dies. The Mycenaean motifs range from spirals to figures of sphinxes. Gold wire and granulation Of the other components, wire and granulation have received most attention from modern researchers. The starting point for both was probably sheet gold. In antiquity gold wire was made by hammering and burnishing a thin rod or strip cut from the edge of fa sheet, or, for regular, thinner wires, by cutting a strip from a gold sheet, twisting this along its length nd then rolling it between two pieces of wood or between wood and a flat metal anvil. Remarkably smooth and even wires can be made by this so called ‘strip twist’ technique and usually these show traces of spiral ‘seam’ lines when viewed under magnifi- cation. The production of gold wires by drawing, that is by pulling a thin rod through a sequence of smaller and smaller holes in an iron draw plate, does INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1982 VOL. 17, NO. 3. 2657. Scanning electron micrograph showing granu- lation on an Egyptian cylindrical amulet. Gold grains are delicately soldered to sheet gold backing by means of silver-gold alloy solder. c. 19008c. Petrie Museum, University College, London (Photo CCPMR Archive) not appear to predate the seventh or eighth century Ap in the Old World, and really became universal only after about the ninth century AD. The introduction of drawn wire had a profound effect on jewellery forms and styles as it allowed a greater diversity of filigree forms and components For example, so called beaded wire, a round wire with a series of grooves around it, giving a spool or beaded effect, was very popular in the ancient world from about the seventh century Bc through to the medieval period. Once thin drawn wires were easy to produce, beaded wire fell out of favour and was replaced by wire ‘ropes’, that is two fine wires twisted together to produce a cablelike length, Granulation is another ancient process that has received a great deal of study. This decoration consists of small gold spheres soldered to a sheet gold back- ground or to one another. The individual spheres can be minute ~ in the finest Etruscan work they can be well under 0-5 mm in diameter. The production of the grains is simple, albeit laborious. Small snippings of gold when melted on a bed of charcoal will roll up into spheres as a result of surface tension. The skill in granulation lies in the arrangement and solder ing of the design. One process which works and which was probably used on some ancient goldwork in essence creates a solder alloy in sitw in the joint, The small grains are stuck in position with a mixture of organic glue and a copper salt — such as copper 266. INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1992, VOL. 17, NO. 3 8 Gold earring with granulated decoration. Tell ¢ 15008c. Fitzwilliam Museum, acetate produced by the action of vinegar fumes on copper. The work is heated, the glue burns to carbon, reducing the copper salt to metallic copper which, in turn, alloys with the surrounding gold to fuse the grains in place. This technique, although elegantly simple, was not the only process employed in antiquity. For example, some of the earliest granu- lation from Egypt, which dates to around 19008c, is precisely soldered with a gold-silver alloy (Fig. 7) By the middle of the second millennium Bc good granulation work was being produced right across the Near East and in Classical lands. The hoop earring in Fig. 8 is part of a large hoard of goldwork found in Tell el-’Ajjul just to the south of Gaza. This dates to within a century or so after 1500nc and is decorated with small pyramids and domes of granulation work. We also find domes of granulation ~ alongside other intricate granulation and filigree ~ in Etruscan Jewellery, for example in the earrings shown in Fig. 9. Etruscan work includes the finest goldwork from the ancient world ~ sometimes the individual wires are under 0-2. mm in diameter. ains and 9 Pair of Etruscan gold ‘basket’ earrings with intricate granulation and filigree decoration. Sixth century 8c. Private collectionPopular books often state that granulation died out after the Roman period and was a lost art until rediscovered by European workers this century. This, is Eurocentric nonsense — fine granulation work con- tinued to be produced in medieval Europe and in particular in 11th century Fatamid Islamic goldwork. It is true that the Renaissance goldsmiths in Europe made little use of granulation, but elsewhere in the world granulation continued to be popular. Future research The study of goldsmithing technology has allowed a great many insights into ancient working practices and, for the archaeologist, provides pointers to dating or geographical origin. After several generations of research there are few ancient techniques that we cannot replicate or at least define. The potential for future research lies in defining how, when and why these particular techniques were used. The inter relationship between the practical processes of the goldsmith’s trade and the customer's needs are also a fertile area for study. There are also economic questions, such as the relationship between metal costs and labour costs. For example, so far we cannot explain why, in the goldwork from a single Hellenistic Greek burial, there can be a wide variety of both gold compositions and quality of workmanship, but often the two do not relate; that is, the most poorly made object can sometimes be of high purity gold, while its finer made companions are of more debased gold. The study of the materials and technology of goldsmithing also helps to detect the ubiquitous forg- cries. Ancient gold jewellery has been a lucrative target for fakers for many generations and far too many of the objects that appear on the market, and even some objects displayed in major museums, are not really as old as they are supposed to be. The first, defence is always the stylistic approach ~ does the object fit into the accepted canons of the society which is said to have spawned it? But style alone is not enough and today a study of the manufacturing technology and the analysis of the materials used are considered a vital adjunct. For example, the scanning electron micrograph in Fig. 10 is of the back of a gold animal figure in the Scythian style. The originals, ‘were hammered from sheet gold, but here the surface structure clearly shows that the object has been cast. This was enough to raise considerable doubts, which were confirmed by other technical aspects of the object. Here, as in many other cases, style alone was not the ultimate criterion since the object appeared to have been cast from a genuine, probably base ‘metal, example For much of antiquity we have little information about the goldsmiths themselves, but, in general terms, it would seem that in earlier times the gold- smiths typically worked for temple, state or local chieftain. The minor gold ornaments found in private ‘graves do indicate that the ordinary person of reason- able means could have access to goldsmiths. In some 10 Scanning electron micrograph of back of a forgery of a Scythian gold plaque. The cast structure of the gold surface is readily appar- inal would be expected to be made from hammered sheet gold (Photo CCPMR: Archive) ceases these might have been itinerant smiths, in other instances we can suspect that the temple or state goldsmiths did some private work. Once into Hellen- istic, Roman and early Byzantine times we have far more information about individual goldsmiths, par- ticularly from the dry climate of Egypt, where a vast ‘number of relevant documents have survived, ranging from contracts between goldsmiths and patrons to letters relating to shoddy workmanship or fraud. From these documents we now have a pretty good idea about the day to day life of the goldsmiths, who they were, how they worked, the cost of their work and the cost of the raw materials. Work charges were small: a late Roman edict limits a goldsmith’s charges to about 08 or 1'3% of the cost of the gold used, depending on whether the work was ‘simple’ or ‘subtle’. ‘This distinction between simple and more complex work is a rare insight. It is remarkable that we have almost no information regarding the ancients’ view of skill and artistry in the goldsmith’s craft ~ the very aspects that are most obvious to us today and which, as we saw, impressed even Michelangelo. Art and technology The interrelationship between art and technology is a fertile and fascinating field for consideration. We can only hope to understand the significance of changes in the construction and decoration of jewel- lery if we have an awareness of assembly technology INTERONSCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1992, VOL.17, NO. 3 26711 Hellenistic Greek gold necklet consisting of chain with lion head terminals and knot centrepiece. This is in the starker early Hi contrast to the necklet in |. fourth to early third century 8c. Private collection (Photo CCPMR Archive) and raw materials. This is as true of medieval and Renaissance goldwork as it is of earlier times. But there is more to change than just the chronological development of technology. The final form of an ornament will reflect all manner of factors from individual ingenuity and skill to established religious 268. INTERDISCIPLNARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1882, VOL. 17, NO. 3 iconography. A Hellenistic Greek work, for example, might exhibit naturalistic flowing forms, precisely rendered and worked in delicate filigree and granu- lation. Even a single earring can be made from 200 or 300 minute separate parts, including wires, grains and sheet On the other hand, a Roman gold object, made just a generation or so later, in some cases in the same country, will typically have a far starker appear- ance, lack much of the naturalistic effect and be composed of a minimum of separate parts. We can compare the simple Hellenistic Greek necklet in Fig. I, which has lion head terminals and applied filigree floral forms, with the pair of Roman bracelets, in Fig. 12. The basic technologies employed are the same, but the application of that technology, what ‘we might term the philosophy of construction, is very different. Other examples would be the lack of granu- lation in traditional Egyptian jewellery forms at the very periods when it was popular in neighbouring countries. When we look further afield the differences become much more apparent ~ the massive gold tores of Celtic Britain, for example, come out of a wholly different tradition of metalwork than the contempor- ary goldwork from Classical lands of the Near East. Tn some cases we can try to explain idiosyncracies of construction. For example, the characteristic Etrus- can penchant for very thin, light goldwork orna- ‘mented with an exuberant but minute and intricate filigree and granulation work (as in Fig. 9) probably relates to the general lack of gold sources in or near Etruria. It is a rule of thumb that the most minuscule workmanship is often typical of areas with minimum gold supply. Of course this does not mean that fine workmanship was neglected in areas where gold was ‘more abundant, but that minuscule intricacy was no longer an end in itself. The magnificent gold comb from a Scythian burial at Solokha (Fig. 13) is a fine example. This comb is just over 12cm high, Variations in the use of gemstones are also illumi- nating. We can turn from, say, an elaborate Egyptian pendant representing a deity inlaid with coloured stones that are used almost like blocks of pigment, to something like the comb in Fig. 13 or most Etrus- can goldwork, which is devoid of coloured gems. The opaque gems in Egyptian goldwork also contrast with the growing love of transparent stones that accompanied the Hellenistic Greek period ~ leading to creations like the emerald and garnet necklet in Fig. 14, In some cases lack of supply of stones must have been a reason for limited use, in others there are far more complex reasons ranging from taste to legal prohibitions ~ one early Byzantine law forbade actresses to wear gemstones in their gold Jewellery. Religious beliefs also had a major impact on jewel- lery forms and materials. In some instances particular symbols were supposed to be made of particular materials — we see this in some Egyptian work. In certain periods and areas laws or religious beliefs limited the quantity of, and exuberance possible in,12 Pair of gold bracelets composed of linked hemispheres of sheet gold. Pompeian region of Italy, buried by eruption of Vesuvius in 4079. Royal Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh (Photo CCPMR Archive) 14 Hellenistic Greek gold, garnet and emerald necklet. This attractive necklet is in the colourful style favoured in the late Hellenistic Period. Mid second to first century i Private collection (Photo CCPMR Archive) 13 Magnificent Scythian gold comb depicting warriors in combat. From rich burial of a man at Solokha, Ukraine. Fourth century ac. Hermitage, Leningrad (Photo Werner Forman Archive) 18 Reliquary for fragments of the True Cross. Gilded silver inset with cloisonné enamelled gold panels and emeralds, sapphires, garnets and pearls. 10th century ao. Limburg, Germany (Photo Werner Forman Archive) IWTEROISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1982, VOL.17, NO. 269goldwork. In other cases elaborate workmanship and extravagant use of gemstones were seen as a fitting way to honour the deity. A fine example of the latter is the reliquary for fragments of the True Cross dating from the 10th century ap and held, since 1827, in Limburg (Fig. 15). Although mainly of silver gilt not gold, the plethora of emeralds, sapphires, pearls and garnets and the wonderful cloisonné enamel panels make this one of the wonders of medieval goldsmiths’ work. Unlike most golden treasures from the ancient world, this piece comes complete with an inscription that allows us to say that it was originally donated to the imperial treasury in Constantinople around aD9%S. Notes and literature cited 1. Michelangelo's comment is given in nENVENUTO CELLNE: “Treatise on goldsmithing and sculpture’, (trans. C.R. Asbee); 1967, New York, Dover. W, M. & PETRIE: ‘Objects of daily use’, 9; 1927, London. 3. H. GARLAND: ‘Ancient Egyptian metallurgy’; 1927, London, 4, Fora recent brief look at the history of jewellery study, see J. Mt. OGDEN: ‘Ancient jewellery’; 1992, London, British Museum Publications. CC. R, WILLIAMS: “Catalogue of Egyptian antiquities’, Nos. 1-60, "Gold and silver jewelry and related objects 1924, New York, New York Historical Society 6, An exemplary publication is C. JOHNS and T. POTTER: “The Thetford Treasure, Roman jewellery and silver’; 1983, London, a catalogue and full description of a very important recent British find of late Roman gold. ‘According to the 16th century English sailor Anthony Knivet, see s. PURCHAS: “Hakluytus pastunus’, Vol. 16, 257; 1906, A similar practice has been reported in the Colombian highlands even in this century, see T. A. RICKARD: “The primitive use of gold’, paper issued on 20 September 1934 by The Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, London for discussion by correspondence, pT. 270 INTEROISCIPLINARY SCIENCE REVIEWS, 1882, VOL. 17, NO. 3 8, Table 10, law 15, see s. p. Scort: “The civil law’; 1973. 9... OGDEN: ‘Platinum group metal inclusions in ancient gold artifacts’, J. Hist. Metall. Soc., 1977, 11, 2), 53-72, 10. Now in a private collection, this ring was first published, (as a drawing with little further information) in PF, NEWBERRY: ‘Ancient Egyptian searabs: an introduc tion to Egyptian seals and signet rings’, pl. 31, 21; 1905, London, 11. 4. A. KNUDIZON: “Die elAmarna-Tafeln’, Nos. 7 and 10; 1908, 1915 (2 vols.) Leipzig. 12. See, for example, A. HARTMANN: “Priihistorische Gold- funde aus Europa’, Studien zu den Anfiingen der Metallurgie 3; 1970, Berlin, 13, For a general view of ancient goldsmithing techniques, see J. M, OGDEN: ‘Jewellery of the ancient world’; 1982, London, Trefoil. “The manuseript was received 2 June 1992. Dr Jack Ogden Cambridge Centre for Precious Metal Research PO Box 391 Cambridge CB2 1LW UK Dr Jack Ogden is a specialist in the materials and tech- nology of ancient jewellery and Director of the Cambridge Centre for Precious Metal Research. He has been involved in the scientific study of early gold for over 25 years and has written and lectured widely in Europe and North ‘America on various aspects of his research. In 1977 he helped found the Society of Jewellery Historians, which ‘now has a worldwide membership of curators, conservators, working jewellers, historians and metallurgists. He is cur- rently joint editor of the society's journal Jewellery Studies Jack Ogden lives in Cambridge with his wife, Dr Eleni Vassilika, who is Keeper of Antiquities at the Fitzwilliam Museum,