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How was gold wire used to decorate the Egyptian bronze menat from the 22nd dynasty?
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metalwork
Warrior and attendants plaque, brass relief sculpture by Edo artists in the court of the kingdom of Benin (now Nigeria), 16th–17th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
The Egyptian bronze menat from the 22nd dynasty (945–c. 730 BCE) was decorated using a technique known as damascening with gold wire.1
In this process, the gold wire was inlaid into the bronze surface to create intricate designs. This method of metalwork allowed artisans to enhance the bronze object—which functioned as a ritual necklace or amulet—with the richness and symbolic value of gold. Such decorative techniques were part of a broader tradition of Egyptian metalworking, where gold was frequently used to enrich bronze statues and objects through inlaying, gilding, and other refined methods to depict clothing, ornaments, or patterns.123