Signet ring from the 'Tiryns treasure'
This gold ring from the so-called 'Tiryns treasure' is the largest Mycenaean signet ring yet found and a masterpiece of the Mycenaean seal engraver's art. The bezel is deeply engraved with an important ritual scene, while the annulus is decorated in relief. In the ritual scene a female deity sits on a throne at the far left resting her feet on a footstool. She wears a long clerical garment and cylindrical hat, and raises a conical cup or rhyton with her right hand. Four lion-headed daemons carrying libation ewers walk in procession towards the goddess. Various other elements, such as a bird (possibly an eagle), an incense burner atop a short column, and the sun and moon, emphasize this scene's religious character. The “Tiryns treasure” was revealed to the northeast of the Citadel, at the foundation of a mycenaean house, in 1915.