Gold Wire Techniques of Europe and the Mediterranean around 300 B.C.

Abstract

The period around 300 B.C. is of the greatest interest for a review of the evolution of gold wire techniques in Antiquity. Such a study reveals many things about the dissemination of technical knowledge in the ancient world, about the levels of development of different jewellery traditions and design centres, and about the sometimes surprising distribution patterns of individual techniques. It is not possible to deal with all categories of gold wire in the space of this paper; only the most characteristic and frequently used types of wire of the period are presented.