Gorgoneion Applique
Gold
Greek; Archaic period
circa late 6th century B.C.
Diameter: 2 5/8 inches (6.7 cm.)
This fearsome image of the Gorgon Medusa, the mythical monster whose gaze turned men to stone and who was slain by the Greek hero Perseus, is a rare survival of Archaic period repoussé work in precious metal. Fashioned from a thin sheet of gold, which has been hammered from behind to produce the facial form and then chased on the front to add the minute details, the finished applique is extremely delicate.
Since so few examples of this technique survive from the Archaic period, it is difficult to ascertain the object’s original function with certainty. However, Perseus presented the decapitated head of the Gorgon Medusa, which retained power even after death, to the goddess Athena for her to wear on her aegis and, as a result, the Gorgon’s head served an apotropaic function in art from the earliest times onward. Therefore, such frontal Gorgon images are found on armor where they are well suited to invoke the protective power of the Gorgon and Athena. While Gorgon images are more frequently hammered directly into pieces of bronze armor, such as the center of a breastplate (cuirass), the kneecaps of greaves and even some equestrian armor; the series of tiny holes around our applique’s perimeter indicates that it was probably originally sewn onto a leather backing. In some versions of the myth, Perseus, unable to look directly at the Gorgon Medusa, gazed at her reflection on the inside of his shield in order to slay her without being petrified. It is therefore quite tempting to imagine that our applique was originally sewn onto the leather lining of a lavish shield where it would have protected its owner and made an appropriate and pithy reference to the heroic myth.
The two larger and cruder punch marks near each ear are probably rivet holes made at a later date when the object was reused. This is direct evidence of the object’s importance and rarity even during antiquity.
Though in modern times we are accustomed to think of gold as the most beautiful and pure of all metals, ancient Greek artists used subtle touches of color in various materials to enhance even the most refined gold objects. In the case of our Gorgon applique, analysis revealed traces of red paint on the fang-like teeth and the frightfully stippled and protruding tongue. It is also likely that the vacuous cavities of the eyes once held glass or enamel inlays. The effect achieved by the finished product would have been startlingly vibrant and life-like.
Our Gorgon is important as one of the few extant masterpieces of the rare technique of precious metal repoussé to have survived from the brief but glorious Greek Archaic period. For a very similar Gorgon applique from Duvanlii, see: Ancient Gold: The Wealth of the Thracians, Treasures from the Republic of Bulgaria, Exhibition Catalogue (Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1997) p. 42, fig. 8.
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