Gold fly pendants were originally an Egyptian and Palestinian tradition. Their discovery in Tomb 70 in 1896 points to the presence of Egyptian commerce, customs, and military influence reaching as far as Cyprus. These small beaded pendants were used to decorate soldiers and military personnel in recognition of their courage and persistence in battle.
The examples in the collection date to between 1550 and 1200 BCE. Measuring just 1.1 cm, they were likely made using lost-wax casting, a technique that was itself central to Enkomi's wider goldsmithing industry.
Goring, E. S. (1983). *Late Cypriot Goldwork* (Doctoral dissertation, University of London).
Crewe, L. (2007). From Lithograph to Web: The British Museum’s 1896 Enkomi excavations. *Archaologia Cypria*, 57-70.
