Mysterious Craft of ‘Mycenaean Alchemy’ Brought to Light at Athens Museum
Christopher Enolpe
April 5th, 2025
Gold goblets and cups from Mycenae and Dendra in the Argolid. Credit: Courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum
A mysterious craft from over 3,400 years ago is being brought to light in a rare exhibition at the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Dubbed “Mycenaean Alchemy” by experts, this ancient technique, dating back to the 14th century BC, allowed craftsmen to replicate the gleam of silver and gold, transforming everyday objects into precious treasures.
Shrouded in mystery until now, this fascinating art is revealed through a selection of unique Mycenaean drinking vessels. Visitors can explore the secrets of this long-lost craft, with the exhibition on display until May 26, 2025.
Mycenaean alchemy a complex and delicate process
The Mycenaean alchemists temporary exhibition launched in the Altar Hall of the National Archaeological Museum in Athens on March 27 and will be on display until May 26, 2025.
It forms part of the Unseen Museum initiative, which brings to the fore antiquities from the museum’s storerooms, most of which have never been displayed before.
The term Mycenaean alchemists refers to a group of rare Mycenaean ceramic vessels from the late 14th century BC, which bear traces of tin coating on their surface.
Νot particularly common, although believed to have been well-known in the Mycenaean world, the practice of covering clay vessels with thin sheets of tin was carried out by specialized craftsmen and was a complex and delicate process.
A group of Mycenaean vases with traces of tinning. Their covering with thin sheets of tin, would make them look as if they were made of silver or gold. Late 14th c. BCE Credit: Courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum
The “Mycenaean alchemy” technique was linked to the needs and beliefs of the Mycenaean theology of death.
It aimed at replicating the shine of silver and gold, that is, the magical transformation of certain everyday objects into precious drinking vessels, according to the description of the exhibition.
“These vessels were offered as gifts to the dead, bearing the illusion of durability and immortality associated with noble metals,” the exhibition announcement reads.
A glimpse into an “enigmatic class of Mycenaean pottery”
The tin-covered “enigmatic class of Mycenaean pottery” was first recognized by legendary archaeologist Arthur Evans in his publication of the chamber tombs of Zafer Papoura at Knossos, Crete.
In 1939, during the Swedish excavations of the chamber tombs at Dendra, in the Peloponnese, southern Greece, Axel W. Persson discovered a series of five vases in this technique in an offering shaft.
According to a paper by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, it was later confirmed by research that “the tin-incrustation was a specific funerary practice, as Evans had long ago correctly recognized, in imitation of more costly metal vases, and the latter would have been restricted to the royal tholoi or to exceptionally wealthy chamber tombs.”
Traces of tinning on the surface of a Mycenaean vase. Credit: Courtesy of the Photographic Archive of the Hellenic National Archaeological Museum
“Nonetheless, the tin-sheathing seems not to have been a mere poor-man’s substitute for the more costly article, since most of the tombs in which these were found have pretensions of grandeur in their bronze weapons, ivories, fine painted vases, etc,” the same study observes.
“Tin, albeit in lieu of solid silver, carried considerable prestige owing to the relative scarcity of this metal. Furthermore, the shapes on which the tin-incrustation occurs are all important in funerary ritual,” it notes.
