Humankind’s fascination with gold continues throughout history to the present day. Revering gold is a connection we share with our ancestors, through the revered nature of it. The Heart of Cornwall Gallery is home to three Lunulae, with Cornish gold in two of, identified by the traces of tin in it.
They originated in Ireland and were traded around the Atlantic seaboard about 2000 BC. The craftsmanship shows a great deal of skill, with the geometric patterns being so finely incised that it is hardly possible to feel the indentations by touch. The gold is extremely thinly beaten (c. 0.4mm in parts), with the middle being the thinnest part.
Gold was streamed in Cornwall during the Bronze Age (4,500 years ago) yet much of the gold on display at Cornwall Museum and Art Gallery is not Cornish. Cornish gold has been linked by chemical tracing to the gold in the Nebra Sky Disc. Found in Germany, it is thought to be the world’s oldest map of the stars.
One of the museum’s visitor favourites is the gold Lunulae, on display in the Heart of Cornwall Gallery. Lunulae are moon-shaped collars, and although similar to look at, the museum’s three Lunulae are different. One has been defined as a Classical type, which are the most finely worked examples.
They were found across three sites in Cornwall, but originated in Ireland, and were traded around the Atlantic seaboard circa 2000 BC. Traces of tin in two of the lunulae suggest that they could have been made, at least in part, with Cornish gold.
The craftsmanship shows a great deal of skill, with the geometric patterns being so finely incised that it is hardly possible to feel the indentations by touch. The gold is extremely thinly beaten (c. 0.4mm in parts), with the middle being the thinnest part.
Gold’s enduring and non-tarnishing quality automatically puts the wearer of this as high-status; the fact that it is a particularly fine example of a lunulae exalts the owner even further. It was probably worn in rituals.
