Gold pendant in the shape of two bees placing a drop of honey in a honeycomb.
The pendant dates from the protopalatial period, which lasted between 1900 and 1700 BC.
This elaborate pendant was found at Malia, the third largest Minoan palace on Crete after Knossos and Phaistos. Made of cast gold with gold granules soldered onto the surface, the pendant depicts two bees centred symmetrically around a drop of honey. The technique of soldering the granules on with a low-heat solder is known as faience and the Minoans probably learnt it from the Syrians, with whom the islanders had regular contact.
