10-09-2008, 01:35 PM
Anyone here a goldsmith?
The answer may well be that braiding gold wire gave the best impression of a spear for the scale of the work. You still see it in Africa and the Mid-East, for instance. In which case, it would only speak to the quality of metalwork and not to "representation." Braided wire work is often used on Scythian stuff, too.
Stated a different way, you'll note that the technique used on most of the figure, which is repousse, wouldn't work for a narrow, straight object without confusing the eye. So the artist/craftsman decided to use a 3 dimensional item to add the spear. I see more braided wire work on the decorative panels but the image is too small to be sure. It seems to me that he used straight wire at the top to represent the spearhead and then braided wire to represent a thicker shaft. But that's just what I see.
The answer may well be that braiding gold wire gave the best impression of a spear for the scale of the work. You still see it in Africa and the Mid-East, for instance. In which case, it would only speak to the quality of metalwork and not to "representation." Braided wire work is often used on Scythian stuff, too.
Stated a different way, you'll note that the technique used on most of the figure, which is repousse, wouldn't work for a narrow, straight object without confusing the eye. So the artist/craftsman decided to use a 3 dimensional item to add the spear. I see more braided wire work on the decorative panels but the image is too small to be sure. It seems to me that he used straight wire at the top to represent the spearhead and then braided wire to represent a thicker shaft. But that's just what I see.
Qui plus fait, miex vault.
