Aegina Treasure

Aegina Treasure
Elaborate gold earring (one of a pair) from the Aegina Treasure in the British Museum
Material	Gold
Size	Height 10.3 cm
Created	1850-1550 BC
Present location	British Museum, London

The Aegina Treasure or Aigina Treasure is an important Minoan gold hoard found on the island of Aegina, Greece. Since 1892, it has been part of the British Museum's collection.^[1]

Discovery

The treasure was said to have been found in a tomb on the island of Aegina in 1891, although the exact circumstances have never been determined. The British Museum purchased the bulk of the treasure in 1892 from the Cresswell Brothers, a London firm of sponge dealers. Further pieces from the treasure were bought by the museum in 1914.^[2]

Description

The Aegina Treasure is composed largely of gold jewellery that has been dated, based on its style and iconography, to the Greek bronze age between 1850 and 1550 BC.^[3]

It includes two pairs of ornate earrings, three diadems, a chest pendant, a bracelet, a gold cup, four rings, ornamented plaques and plain strips. There are also five hoops or rings and many beads and pendants made of a variety of materials including gold, lapis lazuli, amethyst, quartz, cornelian and green jasper.

Pendant and Earrings

The most elaborate items in the treasure are a chest pendant and a pair of earrings. The pendant seems to represent a Cretan deity flanked by two geese in a field. Behind him appear to stand two sacred bulls' horns. The god has been called the 'Master of the Animals' by archaeologists. The pair of earrings are designed in the shape of double-headed snakes which encircle two pairs of facing greyhounds.

Gallery

'Master of Animals' chest ornament
The other elaborate earring
Two sets of golden beads
Various necklaces from the hoard
Necklaces made of gold, cornelian and jasper
Necklace made of golden beads and pendants of jasper
One of 54 identical gold plaques
More plaques with convex bosses decorated with rosettes of petals.
Embossed gold cup with a rosette and spirals
Elongated breast ornament with human heads at both ends
Heavy gold bracelet
Several gold bands and diadems
Gold ornament based on a lions head
Gold ornament with two chains ending in owl figurines
Gold pendants in the shape of owls
Five interconnecting golden rings
Gold finger ring with lapis lazuli inlays in the shape of a double axe
Finger ring inlaid with lapis lazuli
Gold finger ring in the shape of a reef knot
Ring decorated with cross hatched lines
Disk bead made from rock crystal

Bibliography

L. Burn, The British Museum Book of Greek and Roman Art (British Museum Press, 1991)
R. Higgins, The Aegina Treasure - An Archaeological Mystery (London, 1979)
R. Higgins, 'The Aigina treasure reconsidered', Annual of the British School-1, 52 (1957), pp. 42–57

References

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