It is debatable whether we can really speak of Mycenaean glyptic during the Cretan Second Palace period. On the one hand, no trace of a workshop has been found in mainland Greece for this period; on the other hand, no seal impression has been preserved. There is nothing to indicate that seals could have had an administrative role on the mainland before the appearance of the Mycenaean palaces. For the Mycenaeans, seals and signet rings were above all ‘marks of distinction’, prestige objects placed in tombs alongside metal vessels, ceremonial weapons, and jewellery. As for the manufacture of the latter, it is therefore probable that workshops were set up at Mycenae and other major centres with the participation of Minoan artisans; glyptic is not an art form that can just appear, but rather requires years of apprenticeship. This was a domain in which the Mycenaeans had no previous experience.