Heart-shaped gold foil
Archaeological museum of Chora
26_12_2656Α_141116_G_300_1
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Heart-shaped gold foil
1510 CE – 1450 BCE
Archaeological museum of Chora
tholos tomb 1, Peristeria
Gold patch formed as an ivy leaf. A heart-shaped ivy leaf is formed in relief on a thin gold foil, surrounded by dots. It was found in the later in date and larger tholos tomb 1 at Peristeria. Among the burial offerings were palatial piriform jars, the remains of a boar’s tusk helmet and fine golden jewellery. The depiction of diverse variations of ivy leaves was very common in minoan and mycenaean art. The motif probably comes from Egypt and Crete and was adopted by the Mycenaeans as a ritual symbol of nature’s rebirth and immortality.