Gold and Jewelry

Gold and Jewelry

Resplendent in gilded silver, Zeus at his regal best here. The appliqué is from a tomb in Pydna (Northern Greece, ancient Macedonia) and is thought to have once adorned a very fancy late 4th century B.C. larnax, a type of small coffin for cremation burials.

Zeus exhibits a sort of regal languor. His thick cloak has slipped down to reveal his muscular torso, with his enveloped lower body apparently in mid-stride even as he grips his sceptre.

The larnax itself has disintegrated, with only bits of the decoration remaining including Artemis and Athena in much more vigorous motion – all stretched and billowy drapery. I suspect the original decorative scheme showed a gigantomachy (battle of gods vs. giants), a splashy precursor in miniature to the famous frieze from Pergamon. Be sure to visit them in Thessaloniki!

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