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

The use of complex connecting element in bull's-head hoop earrings would be a good place to begin in examining how characteristic techniques and ideas "wander" in the ancient Mediterranean world. On the migration of metalworkers (itinerant craftsmen) see the survey by M. Yu. Treister, The Role of Metals in Ancient Greek History, Leiden, New York, and Cologne 1996: the relevant chapters are pages 86-92, 237-48, and 331-38. On division of labour, see Williams 1998, 100.1 do not agree with his suggestion that "the less skilled members of the fcraft] unit" will have prepared the materials, that is to say the sheets, wires, and granules. It naturally happens that there are times when for ease of work goldsmiths will make a stock of sheets and wires of a particular thickness, which can be used by all the members of the team according to the requirements of the piece he or she happens to be making. But the assembly of a piece of jewellery, whether or not it is an individual or series-produced piece, also demands creativity and the ability to improvise. Only a goldsmith who has followed the making of a piece from beginning to end will be able to solve the problems arising in the course of production. It is of course possible that the elements and parts of pieces of the same type, especially in course of series production, may have been prepared in advance, but an "assembly-line" system of jewellery-production is in my opinion impossible. I use the term suggested by M. Yu. Treister for embossed objects in the description of the making of the head. See M. Yu. Treister, Hammering Techniques in Greek and Roman Jewellery and Toreutics, Leiden, Boston and Cologne 2001, XVII. Possible ways of embossing objects from sheet metal can be found, with the relevant technical terminology, on pages XI-XVIII of this volume. GLOSSARY BASE-SHEET: a piece of sheet which is used as a base for parts or structural elements of a piece of jewellery. Further decoration (e.g. a rib made separately from a piece of sheet, filigree wire, or granulation) can be soldered on it. BASE-TUBE: a tube which is used for the support of a whole piece of jewellery (e.g. a wreath) or a structural element (e.g. the hoop of an animal-head hoop earring) to which further components can be attached. BEADED WIRE: wire which resembles a line of small beads. It was made by rolling a longitudinally channelled tool with a double edge several times over a piece of plain wire. This process was used for only relatively thick wires because the tool could easily cut the wire. BLADE: a tool with a long, sharp, wedge-shaped edge. It was used for cutting sheet or wire by hand or by hammering, depending on the hardness of the raw material.