Greek earrings and Aegean Bees

Art History

Rewrite the below statement in your own way and words or a different way.

Throughout the history of self-expression using art, numerous advancements have been made in the techniques used to create them. The paintings seen in paleolithic times were made with simple materials they found on the ground with little refinement. The advancements in techniques and the materials used significantly increase as society becomes increasingly diverse and has access to minerals and processes never seen before. Some evident examples of this come from the Agean Islands and their neighbor Greece. The “Pendant of Golden Bees” from the Agean Islands for their time was unlike that of anything seen in the world of metalworking. This piece even rivaled that of the Egyptians who were notorious for their skills and access to precious metals from Nubia. Nevertheless, these bees were made using gold bent and styled using the technique known as “filigree” which uses fine wires of the material to bring the bees to life before the audience. The other technique used in this piece is called “granulation” which involves very minuscule balls to add texture to the surface of the work. It could also be inferred that they may have used some simply done hollow casting to create the bodies of the bees and added on the textured effects. In contrast to the textured add-ons of the Agean Bees are the much more complex and detailed golden earrings from Greece’s late classical period. These earrings while they are much newer considerably speaking they have a level of detail the pails in comparison. These earrings were made using an intricately made hollow cast. This hollow cast provides elegant detail in every nook and cranny down to the robe the drinking vessel and on. Similarly to the bees, they are also made of gold and are designed in a way for them to be lightweight. These two pieces share a difference in the story they tell and how they show movement. For example, the Greek earrings, have a certain motion being captured through the position of the head, hands, and feet of both earrings. While in the bee pendant they don’t really have any movement being portrayed through them but instead speak to a simple message. That message is one of unity in the way that the bees come together to make the centerpiece of the artwork and focus the eyes of the viewer. While the worlds of differences that these two pieces have at first sight they have some commonalities that they share too. For one these pieces both seem to be made using a casting method and are done so with the same precious material. Additionally, the two objects serve the same functional use in being accessory pieces whether ritual or for a person of great stature. Another underlooked element that they both share is that the figures depicted in them are portrayed in an embellished nature. What I mean is that no two bees would be coming together to hold something just as two-winged beings wouldn’t even exist. What this means is that these two works of art aren’t telling a stereotypical story through registers or dramatic scenes. Instead, the pieces reflect embellishment and great stature through their depictions and in turn that of the person wearing them.