Greece, Mycenaean Period, Late Bronze Age II, ca. 1600 to 1000 BCE. A discoidal sheet made from a silver-copper alloy (52.3% silver) stamped with a repoussé and stylized face of a man with curling facial hair around his pointed chin. The heart shaped face has evidence of piercing holes along the upper edge that may have been for suspension. Hammered sheets of precious metals such as gold, silver, and bronze were made into ornaments for sewing to clothing and / or funerary shrouds, and sometimes attached to masks of warriors. This period is so named for the palace at Mycenae, famed in Homeric legend as the opulent seat of King Agamemnon - excavations there revealed an elite and long-lasting society with a great deal of wealth. This extended to the workshops of artisans who produced gorgeous metal items for the living and deceased. Size: 2" L x 1.75" W (5.1 cm x 4.4 cm); silver quality: 52.3%; weight: 3.5 grams

Provenance: private Matrisciano collection, Thousand Oaks, California, USA, before 2002

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#163224

Tears and abrasions to peripheries. Mineral deposits and green patina as shown. Facial features are well preserved.