Czére Andrea szerk.: A Szépművészeti Múzeum közleményei 105. (Budapest, 2006)

MARIANNA DÁGI: Training the Eye: Technical Details as Clues in the Attribution of Ancient Jewellery

8/f Narrowing cut split apart 5/f 6/f 7/f BALL-SHAPED PART OF COMPLEX CONNECTING ELEMENTS. SIDE-VIEW has been embellished with a rib (see figs. 5/f., 6/f., 7/f.).

17 However, when one compares entire pieces a considerable difference in quality is apparent between the paired earrings and the solo one. The realistic appearance of the animal's head, the balanced proportions of the parts to the whole, the harmony of the shape and the decoration, and a generally evident delicacy of technique all point to the pair of earrings 5-6 being a real masterpiece. No. 7, which is carefully and delicately made, is also quite superb from a purely technical standpoint. The tiny dots with a diameter of only c. 0.1 mm in the middle rank of the line-and-rib pattern which defines the animal's eyelid are punched exactly next to each other in a curving row

—attesting to the accuracy and also the extraordinary eyesight and manual dexterity of the goldsmith (see fig. 7/g.).

IK But the piece as a w

r

hole is "only" a product of its maker's considerable precision (cf. figs. 5/a-b., 6/a-b., and 7/a-b.). For this reason, the aforementioned similarities all seem to point to the pieces having been produced in a single place, where two different goldsmiths made their own versions of the same jewellery-type, each according to his respective talent. Detailed study of the bull's-head hoop earrings in the Collection of Classical Antiquities in Budapest has clearly demonstrated that certain technical details can in fact be identified, on the basis of which ancient jewellery DOTS IN A CURVING can be attributed to a given maker or place of production. For the purposes of ROW ABOV

E THE EYE