Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/506

M etaL. 449 as baldrics/ as well as many a bracelet, ear-ring, and such-like ornaments. The Mycenians, then, were already accustomed to prepare what might be called sepulchral ornaments." Other pieces, on the contrary, such as diadems, semi-ovals, or pendants, and many more, are sufficiently massive to have stood the wear and tear of a long life, ere they were buried with their owner. Many of these ornaments are much worn. We are not a little surprised to find that the Trojan goldsmith knew how to solder gold upon gold ; that, unlike his modern colleague, he did not employ either a silver, borax, or glass alloy, which always leaves an unsightly dark mark at the point of junction, but that he managed his soldering in such a way as to be unperceptible to the naked eye.'^ The process, however, was unknown to the artisans who executed the gold objects contained in the tombs situated on the acropolis. Thus, whilst the handles of a vase from Troy (Fig. 504) are soldered, nails, big and small, are invariably used at Mycenae for the same purpose. The art of soldering was either imported into Hellas, or re-discovered about the time when the bee-hive -tombs were built. ^ Thus, the vertical stem of the Vaphio vases, which serves to connect the horizontal bands of the handle with one another, is soldered on to this. Soldered, too, are other gold ornaments of the same epoch (Fig. 540)/ When the two metals, silver and gold, are introduced into one piece, they are either hammered together and nailed one upon the other, or incrusted (Fig. 524), gold laminae being inserted in small cavities cut for the purpose in the silver plate (Fig. 374). It would appear that in early days the Mycenae metal-worker found some difficulty in carrying out the process just described ; for Schliemann discovered a thin leaf of copper between the silver and gold plates constituting a long-horned ox-head.^ Nor had they any knowledge of what we call gilding, or how to solder copper and bronze. Vases made of these metals are composed of plates joined together with countless nails. As to the handles, they are always fastened to the body with broad-headed nails.^ The charming process of incrustation, which was fully de- scribed by us in dealing with the Mycenae daggers and a vase ^ Schliemann, Mycetm. *^ Tsoundas, Mv^if^ai. ^ Schliemann, Ilios. ** 'Ei^ij/iep/f, 1889. ^ Schliemann, Myceme, ** Ibid, VOL. II. c; G