Age-Old Techniques

When John Donald, the English goldsmith, succeeded in reproducing the legendary golden honeycomb of Daedalus, he was asserting a truth about the past which was new to many people. Most of us are inclined, when we come face to face with one of those great examples of the art of the goldsmith, wrought in ancient times, to wonder how such things could possibly have been accomplished by primitive smiths, using primitive tools, and labouring in primitive workshops. We completely underestimate the skills, resourcefulness, and technological know-how of the ancient craftsmen, in particular the goldsmiths.

The first vital step in developing the craft of goldsmithing, probably around 5000 B.C., was stumbling upon the fact that only hammer and fire together allow gold to be worked. Only by raising gold to a cherry red heat on an annealing hearth in the darkest corner of the workshop and then quenching it in water could the goldsmith restore it to its unique malleability and ductility. Once the goldsmith could hammer out sheet and wire from a golden ingot anything was possible. The death mask of Tutankhamen, perhaps the finest example of goldsmithing to survive from ancient Egypt, was made from sheet gold and represents a great step forward artistically from early times.

The golden honeycomb of Daedalus, a Greek god, is an early example of lost wax casting, as honeycombs are actually made of wax. Of course, not all craftsmanship of the past was impeccable, as is true today. Even in times when craftsmanship of a high order is being produced, there are provincial botchers at work in the outposts whose work is poor in conception and weak in execution.

Already by 3000 B.C. the basic technology of goldsmithing had been evolved. Any additions which have been made to that technology since then have been relatively minor innovations.