ArtFire

These bronze earrings represent the centers of the two sides of the Phaistos Disc. They have an arc of matte seed beads at the bottom with additional seed beads hung on bronze wires. The discs measure 1 inch in diameter and the overall length is approximately 2 inches. The hypoallergenic niobium earwires are embellished with a wire coil.

In 1908 Italian archaeologist Luigi Pernier discovered a fired clay disc on the island of Crete at Phaistos. Each side has a series of symbols pressed into the clay arranged in a spiral pattern. The disc is unique in that each of the symbols was made using some kind of stamp that could be reused, which may be seen as a very early use of movable type to create a "printed text". The context of the find indicated a date between 1850 and 1600 BC, which is generally accepted as accurate, but there have been some who question its authenticity and suggest that it may be a forgery or a hoax.

I-177

As I reached the pictures in the "New Scientist" article I knew I had stumbled on what I had been looking for. Bronze has a feeling of antiquity about it that seems suited to fragments of text, and I wanted to incorporate script into the pieces I was making, but in all the texts I was looking at the meaning had to be considered. Here were "Eight Scripts That Still Can't Be Read", and they were both enormously varied and visually intriguing. From the organic feel of Linear A to the impossible precision of Rongo-rongo, from the almost familiar pictures of Olmec, Proto-Elamite, and the Phaistos Disc to the abstract lines and squiggles of Meroitic, all were visually and intellectually engaging in a different way than known text could be. They say something, but they are more cultural artifact than simple text. Even if one turns out to be a warehouse inventory I won't be disappointed because their meaning goes beyond their translation. So here is my "Undeciphered Texts" collection.

bronze, glass beads, niobium earwires