The Mold Gold Cape

I learned about this ancient Bronze Age object today.  It was purchased by and is now kept at the British Museum:

The Mold gold cape
Mold, Flintshire, North Wales, Bronze Age, about 1900-1600 BC

Workmen quarrying for stone in an ancient burial mound in 1833 found this unique ceremonial gold cape, which remains unparalleled to this day. The mound lay in a field named Bryn yr Ellyllon (the Fairies' or Goblins' Hill).

At the centre of the mound was a stone-lined grave with the crushed gold cape around the fragmentary remains of a skeleton. Strips of bronze and numbers of amber beads were recovered, but only one of the beads reached the British Museum.

The cape would have been unsuitable for everyday wear because it would have severely restricted upper arm movement. Instead it would have served ceremonial roles, and may have denoted religious authority.

The cape is one of the finest examples of prehistoric sheet-gold working and is quite unique in form and design. It was laboriously beaten out of a single ingot of gold, then embellished with intense decoration of ribs and bosses to mimic multiple strings of beads amid folds of cloth.

Perforations along the upper and lower edges indicate that it was once attached to a lining, perhaps of leather, which has decayed. The bronze strips may have served to strengthen the adornment further.

The fragile cape broke up during recovery and the pieces were dispersed among various people. Although the British Museum acquired the greater proportion in 1836, small fragments have come to light over the years and have been reunited.

Later detailed study and restoration revealed the full form of the cape, which at one time had been interpreted as a peytrel (chest ornament) for a horse. It also became apparent that a second, smaller object in matching embossed style was present in the grave.

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Interestingly, the British Museum shows the cape being worn by a man.  But evidently it is too small for a man, and may have, instead, been worn by a woman or possibly a child.  A child?  So says this article - reporting on a move by at least one politician in Wales to repatriate the Cape back to Wales!  Hey - I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried!

From the dailypost.co.uk
North Wales MP wants Welsh historic cape back
Mar 16 2010
ONE of the most important bronze-age discoveries in Europe must be returned to the people of Wales, the government has been told.

The 3,400-year-old Mold Gold Cape was uncovered by a gang from the local workhouse in 1833 and was sold to the British Museum three years later.

But Plaid Cymru’s Parliamentary leader Elfyn Llwyd has argued it is time to hand back the precious find because it is part of the Welsh "collective memory" and likened it to the battle over the Elgin Marbles.

In Westminster Hall the Meirionnydd Nant Conwy MP told culture minister Margaret Hodge: "We talk about the Elgin Marbles and so on, but an artefact from North Wales – a famous early Welsh gold cape – is in the British Museum and will not be released back to Wales.

"Such artefacts are part of our collective national memory. They are important, and should be returned."

The cape is considered one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in Europe and is currently being featured in the BBC series The History Of The World In 100 Objects.

Workmen digging for stone in a mound at Bryn yr Ellyllon, Mold, found the cape with a skeleton that later disappeared. The local vicar recorded the find but it was the tenant of the land on which the cape was uncovered who kept the largest part of the cape and later sold it to the museum in London.

It was eventually restored and was found to be too small to fit the body of a grown king or warrior as previously thought – it most likely belonged to a slim woman or child.

During the debate in the Commons’ second chamber the culture minister insisted she "profoundly disagreed with the underlying premise that culture is to be enjoyed only by the nation most closely identified with it".

Ms Hodge added: "Our national museums are centres of excellence and scholarship and part of a wider international web of information sharing.

"It is not about promoting nationalism; the focus is on promoting an understanding of our shared past so that we can better deal with the present and tackle the problems of the future.

"Furthermore, if beautiful artefacts are created, they should be enjoyed as widely as possible, not just in one nation.

"They do not enhance the lives of just one community, but of all of us in all our communities.

"The advent of digitisation enables us to share more widely the wonderful treasures that we are privileged to enjoy in our great national museums.

"The British Museum was one of the first institutions in this country to be named "British", but its objective is to have collections representing the whole world under its roof, so as to enable everyone to enjoy its experiences which, of course, are free of charge."

Mr Llwyd said: "If they persist in taking all our treasures then obviously no one will come. Imperialism has gone, it is time for the Gold Cape to be repatriated."