Walter Muller

Seals made from Lapis Lacedaemonius : methodological remarks on the study of style, technique, and origin in Aegean Glyptic

Seals cut in Lapis Lacedaemonius were chosen as the point of departure for this concise contribution, with the purpose of presenting some methodological comments on the study of Aegean glyptic.

Lapis Lacedaemonius occurs only in a single outcrop at Krokeai near Sparta, where quarries yielded a raw material for objects of art which was highly prized from the Bronze Age to the Renaissance. Aegean Seals cut in this lively-speckled, light- and dark green stone are, in part, characterized by the particularly high quality of their representations. This volcanic hard stone places the highest demands on the seal-cutters' working techniques. Although the only known outcrop lies on the Greek mainland, the majority of the seals cut in Lapis Lacedaemonius - as far as their provenience is known - were found on Crete. In this paper, the seals known to date are classified stylistically and chronologically, and the question of their origin is posed.

Criteria for analyzing the differences in the quality of the gems' representations will also be proposed. The attempt to evaluate the numerous seals without documented find context, which are scattered over a number of museums, will also be undertaken. One of this contribution's main concerns is to point out the limits set to the study of these seals at the present state of research.

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