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The History of Jewellery
Ornamentation has been common for as long as man has existed. The very first ‘jewellery’ is thought to have developed from weapons – it was natural for people to adorn themselves with their most impressive-looking knife or dagger on special occasions, and out of this the concept of aesthetic decoration was born. It has endured for thousands of years and has provided various insights into how ancient cultures worked.Visit Astley Clarke's Online Designer Jewellery Boutique.
The first signs of jewellery have been noted amongst the Cro-Magnons, ancestors of Homo sapiens (modern man), around 40,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons originally migrated from the Middle East and came to settle in Europe, replacing the Neanderthals as the dominant species. Crude necklaces and bracelets strung on pieces of animal sinew, made of bone, teeth, stone and very occasionally, mother-of-pearl or shell, have been discovered dating from their arrival in Europe. In southern Russia, carved bracelets made of mammoth tusk have been found - most commonly, these have been found as grave-ornaments. The first sign of precious metal used in fine jewellery comes from some copper jewellery pieces, dating from about 7,000 years ago.
Although there was considerable variety in jewellery designs among early barbarian tribes such as the Celts, when the Romans conquered the majority of Europe, designs begun to gain uniformity and become ‘fashionable’. The most common artefact of early Rome was the brooch, which was very practical with togas. The Romans had considerable resources available to them, and used a diverse range of materials for their jewellery, including gold, bronze or bone and in earlier times, glass beads & pearl. As early as 2,000 years ago, they imported Sri Lankan sapphires and Indian diamonds and used emeralds, jet and amber in their jewellery.
Jewellery has been used across the centuries and the continents to symbolise power, religious influence and wealth – it is often used just as extravagantly and significantly in death, in grave ornamentation, as it is in life. This is particularly the case, for example, with the Egyptians – the most impressive examples of their fine jewellery and use of gemstones discovered is in the tombs of Pharaohs such as Tuttenkhamen.
The Egyptians were also among the first to record the importance and characteristics attributed to different gemstones. The Book of the Dead dictates that the necklace of Isis around the neck of a mummy must be red to satisfy Isis’s need for blood, while green jewellery symbolised new growth for crops and fertility.
The Greeks were the first civilisation to create carved ornaments such as cameos, in 300 B.C. They made cameos from Indian Sardonyx, a striped brown pink and cream agate stone. Here, jewellery was almost exclusively used for public appearances or on special occasions. It was often supposed to give the wearer protection from dangerous forces, endowed the owner with supernatural powers or had religious symbolism.
In China, silver has long been more popular than gold for use in jewellery, preferably adorned with something in blue, nationally the favourite colour. Blue kingfisher feathers were tied onto early Chinese jewellery and later, blue gems were incorporated into designs. The most treasured stone in China has always been jade. The Chinese carved and shaped it using diamonds, and revered it for the human-like qualities they assigned to it, such as its hardness, durability and beauty.
Jewellery was a vital factor in the history of the Americas, when the Spanish established an empire to seize South American gold. The Aztecs and Mayans created innumerable pieces in the widely-available metal. Among the Aztecs, only nobility wore gold jewellery, as it showed their rank, power and wealth. The main purpose of Aztec jewellery was to attract attention, with richer and more powerful Aztecs wearing brighter, more expensive jewellery and clothes. As well as decoration, the Aztecs also used jewellery in sacrifices to appease the gods, and priests used gem-encrusted daggers to perform animal and human sacrifices.
Visit Astley Clarke's Online Designer Jewellery Boutique.
