A Brief History Of Ancient Jewelry
As long as there have been humans on earth, people have made and
used jewelry to ornament themselves. Prehistoric man (or maybe woman)
made jewelry of leather or grasses strung with durable and non durable
items such as shells, feathers, berries, stones or bones.
Ancient Western cultures used gold as the preferred metal dating
back to Egypt as far back as 3000 BC. The properties that we love
today were exactly the same; it was rare, easy to work with and
never tarnished. We have examples of rings, earrings, arm and head
ornaments, pendants and necklaces made in ancient Egypt. Even today,
we are drawn to these beautiful artifacts and art work. “King
Tutankhamun And The Golden Age Of The Pharaohs” is currently
on tour in the United States and will be available thru September
2007 in Fort Lauderdale, Chicago and Philadelphia. You can see 50
of the major excavated treasures including his royal diadem, his
gold crown and one of the gold and inlaid coffinettes which contained
his mummified internal organs. To be sure this display will be well
attended because of our huge interest, not only in antiquities,
but also jewelry. See For Yourself. It is interesting to note the differences compared to modern wedding jewelry.
Greek jewelry art is known to have been executed into a common
form of earrings, bracelets and necklaces from about 2500 BC. Until
the Classical period, around 500 BC, gold was formed into beads
and thin foil was formed into petals and rosettes. They made thin
coils of gold wire and formed the wire into chains or plated necklaces
or bracelets. Subjects drawn from nature were a common theme such
as butterflies, bees and starfish. The
Natural Museum in Athens has a large collection dating from
about 1500 BC of gold disks that were attached to clothing through
a small perforation. This collection includes works of art such
as golden diadems, gold earrings and gold rings depicting domestic
scenes, battles and animals. These were intricately decorated articles
and great skill was required to produce them.
In China, styles and methods of jewelry making have continued uninterrupted
from antiquity to the present day. Chinese jewelry used silver more
often in their traditional jewelry than gold and then gilded to
prevent tarnishing. Blue was a favorite color in ancient times and
was enameled over silver and gold. The most valued of precious stones
was Jade. The Freer Gallery of Art at The Smithsonian Institution
in Washington, DC has a world-renowned collection of art from China,
Japan, Korea, South and Southeast Asia. The
Sackler Gallery, houses early Chinese bronzes and jades, Chinese
paintings and lacquerware, ancient Near Eastern ceramics and metalware,
and sculpture from South and Southeast Asia. Many pieces of ancient
jewelry are on display in these two galleries which are connected
by an underground gallery space.
Indian Jewelry produced enamel, soldered and filigreed work of
great refinement. Some of the best silver jewelry in the world came
from Kashmir and Bengal. In London, the Victoria & Albert Museum includes priceless golden and enameled jewelry
artifacts that were acquired during the 17th Century.
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Article by Michelle Lindsey
© 2006
www.silverlandjewelry.com The one stop shopping for elegant wedding jewelry for bridesmaids and the bride.
