1300BC-1100BC BRONZE AGE GREEK JEWELLER`S MOULD MINOAN CIVILISATION

• This finely-preserved large jewellery mould was created by and belonged to an ancient 1300BC-1100BC Greek jeweller during the Greek Bronze Age (Minoan civilisation). Impressively, this particular mould displays various signs of use, making it a truly unique piece.This particular example is a notably large mould used for making various jewellery pieces such as ear-drop pendants, crescent-shaped pendants, ribbed bobbin-shaped beads and spherical beads. Additionally, a rosette design is present on the corner of the mould, which heavily coincides with flowers being a significant figure in minoan civilisation jewellery.Moulds of this type were made for casting molten metal such as gold, as made evident by the pouring channels and the locating holes on the surface.Similar examples found in Crete and Cyprus have led experts to deduce that this particular piece most likely originated from Crete or a surrounding area (Minoan civilisation).
• The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age culture which was centred on the island of Crete. Known for its monumental architecture and energetic art, it is often regarded as the first civilization in Europe.The Minoan civilization developed from the local Neolithic culture around 3100 BC, with complex urban settlements beginning around 2000 BC. After c.1450 BC, they came under the cultural and perhaps political domination of the mainland Mycenaean Greeks, forming a hybrid culture which lasted until around 1100 BC.Minoan art included elaborately decorated pottery, seals, figurines, and colourful frescoes. Typical subjects include nature and ritual. Minoan art is often described as having a fantastical or ecstatic quality, with figures rendered in a manner suggesting motion.Through traders and artisans, their cultural influence reached beyond Crete to the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean. Minoan craftsmen were employed by foreign elites, for instance to paint frescoes at Avaris in Egypt.
• The jewellery of the Minoan civilization based on Bronze Age Crete demonstrates, as with other Minoan visual art forms, not only a sophisticated technological knowledge and an ingenuity of design but also a joy in vibrantly representing nature and a love of flowing, expressive, shapes and forms.Initially influenced technically and artistically by Egypt and the East, in particular by the Babylonians via Syria, the Minoans, nevertheless, certainly evolved their own unique art in jewellery making. Smelting technology allowed for the refining of precious metals and Minoan jewellers possessed a full repertoire of techniques which transformed raw material into a staggering array of objects and designs.The materials utilised in the production of Minoan jewellery included metals such as gold, silver, bronze and gold-plated bronze. Semi-precious stones were used such as rock-crystal, carnelian, garnet, lapis lazuli, obsidian, amethyst and red, green and yellow jasper.Gold was most probably imported from Egypt, Anatolia or even Romania and was consequently a rare and precious commodity, undoubtedly restricted to those of a higher economic status. It was used in many forms: beaten, engraved, embossed, moulded, and punched, sometimes with stamps.Jewellery took the form of diadems, necklaces, bracelets, beads (In the case of gold, they often took the form of flowers such as lilies and in some cases with incised decorations or whorls added in filigree), pendants, armlets, headbands, clothes ornaments, hair pins and hair ornaments, pectorals, chains and earrings.
• Dated to 1300BC - 1100BC Bronze Age Greece Minoan civilisation
• Cf. Papaconstantinou, D., Menti, N., Re-examining a steatite mould from Idalion: old practices in the light of new perspectives in Various, Medelhavmuseet, 199, Finds and Results from the Swedish Cyprus Expedition 1927–1931: A Gender Perspective, pp.198-206, figs.1-2, for similar.
• Size: 64mm x 52mm x 14mm.Provenance: Acquired between 1969-1999 and held in the private collection of the late Mr. S.M., an esteemed collector in London, UK.
• Condition: This piece is extremely well preserved and remains in excellent condition. The original pouring channels for the jewellery pieces are still clearly defined - refer images.
• Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity (Internationally recognised BidSafe authentication and verification number: 4998290-6 Inspected and verified by an archaeologist and prominent historical author with a PhD in archaeology.Due to the Importance of this Piece, it was Required to have an Open General Export Licence (O.G.E.L.) Issued by the United Kingdom Government Prior to Export. The Arts Council England also Checked this Piece on the INTERPOL Stolen Works of Art Database and Cleared it for Export. (SN:4998290-6)

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