Greek Jewellery
Jewellery-making Techniques
from Antiquity to Recent Times
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Another technique of decoration is granulation based on the property of gold to form tiny globules or granules when melted in small quantities (Fig.17). These granules were then placed on the surface of an object in various designs (figs 18,19). |
| Fig. 15 Rosette from a diadem,richly embellished with filigree decoration, 7th century BC. (Athens, National Archaeological Museum, XP.1177-1181). |
 Drawing 5 Working the wire with a special tool to create a specific design on its surface. |
In the Minoan period metal-working was so highly developed that granulation was frequently used for decorating gold objects (fig. 20). It is not known exactly how decoration in filigree and granulation was executed. One theory is that a solder was used, probably an alloy of gold or silver and copper. The characteristic of this alloy is that its melting point is lower than that of the material from which the jewellery is made. |
 Drawing 6 Various kinds of decorative wires. |
| On heating it melted, joining the wires or granules at the point of placement on the body of the piece. More delicate joins could be executed by applying a mixture of some copper compound and a glue. On heating the glue burnt, liberating the copper which then alloyed with the gold at the desired point. (drawings 7,8). One of the main characteristics .of ancient Greek jewellery is the absence of semi-precious stones, which were mainly used as sealstones in rings (fig. 21) |  |
| Fig. 16 Detail of an earring (fig. 4) under microscope. Various motifs described in gold wire can be discerned. |