Minoan Crete and Mycenaean Greece, c. 1500 BC
Gold rings from Crete and Myceneae
Late Minoan I, Mochlos, Crete ¦ Mycenaean civilisation, southern Greece
Perhaps it is difficult to depict exactly what sort of tree you mean on a tiny ring, unless you stylize it a bit.
'Trees growing out of shrines,' said Miranda. 'This one is on a boat!'
'Here is another one,' replied Quintin. 'It seems to depict a scene from a drama. Perhaps one of the Mycenaeans' religious stories, a myth. Same tree growing out of a shrine. And instead of leaves it has footballs with peas stuck all over them. What sort of a tree looks like that?'
'Perhaps a stylized one,' said Miranda, thoughtfully. 'If it's important to show a particular sort of tree. Difficult to do on a tiny ring, so you have to invent it a bit. Say a pomegranate tree. How would you depict it. What are its salient features? Big round fruit and lots of little seeds. So that's what you need to show. Maybe that's all you need to show. No use keeping the seeds inside the fruit where they can't be seen. So enlarge the important feature of the tree, which is the fruit, bring out the really important things that are hidden, the pomegranate seeds, and you end up with a tree made of footballs covered in peas.'
'Mmmmm,' mused Quintin.
