The History of Jewelry, Part 5

Jewelry of Asia

China
One of the earliest cultures to begin making jewelry in Asia were the Chinese, around 5,000 years ago. Chinese jewelry designs were inspired by religion, featuring Buddhist symbols, a tradition that continues to this day.

The Chinese used more silver than gold in their jewelry, and decorated it with their favourite color, blue. Early on, they tied blue kingfisher feathers onto jewelry, and later, blue gems and glass were incorporated into their designs. However, jade was preferred over any other stone. The Chinese revered jade because of its hardness, durability, and beauty. It is so hard that it had to be fashioned using diamonds. The first Chinese jade pieces were very simple, but as time progressed, they evolved into more complex designs. Jade rings from between the 4th and 7th centuries BC show evidence of having been worked with a compound milling machine, hundreds of years before the first development of such equipment in the west.


In China, jewelry was worn frequently by both men and women to show their nobility and wealth, and in later years, to accentuate beauty. Women wore highly detailed gold and silver headdresses and other items, while men wore decorative hat buttons to show their rank, and silver or gold rings. Women also wore bands of gold on their foreheads, much like women in the Indus Valley. This was an early type of tiara, often decorated with precious gems. The most common jewelry worn in China was earrings, worn by both men and women. Amulets with a Chinese symbol or dragon were also common. Dragons, Chinese symbols, and phoenixes are frequently found on jewelry designs. Most Chinese graves found by archaeologists contain decorative jewelry.


India
India has the longest continuous legacy of jewelry making anywhere, dating back to Ramayana and Mahabharata times. While Western jewelry traditions were at the mercy of the rise and fall of empires, India enjoyed a continuous development of its art forms for five millennia. One of the first to start jewelry making were the people of the Indus Valley (present-day Pakistan and northwest India). By 1500 BC, residents of the Indus Valley were creating gold earrings and necklaces, bead necklaces, and metallic bangles. Before 2100 BC, before metals were widely used, the largest jewelry trade in the Indus Valley region was in beads, made from rough stones, that were placed into a hot oven and heated until they turned deep red, a highly prized color. The red stone would then be chipped to the right size and be bored with a hole with primitive drills. The beads were then polished and sometimes painted with designs. Bead making was often passed down through generations, with children of bead makers learning how to work beads from an early age.



Jewelry in the Indus Valley was worn predominantly by women and girls. They wore many clay or shell bracelets, shaped like doughnuts and painted black. Over time, clay bangles were replaced by more durable ones. Today in India, bangles are made out of metal or glass. As in China, women frequently wore were thin bands of gold on their brows, as well as earrings, primitive brooches, chokers, and gold rings. Some men in the Indus Valley wore beads, including tiny ones crafted to be woven into men’s and women’s hair.


India was the first country to mine diamonds, with some mines dating back to 296 BC. Realizing their valuable qualities, the Indians initiated the diamond trade, which flourished about 1,000 AD. Today, many Indian jewelry designs and traditions are still in use, and elaborate gold jewelry is commonplace in Indian ceremonies and weddings.

The History of Jewelry, Part 4

Romanticism
Starting in the late 18th century, the Romantic movement had a profound impact on the development of western jewelry. The public was fascinated by ancient treasures being discovered through the birth of modern archaeology, and also with Medieval and Renaissance art. Changing social conditions and the start of the Industrial Revolution also led to the growth of a middle class that wanted and could afford jewelry. Driven by this demand, the use of industrial processes, cheaper alloys, and stone substitutes led to the development of the first types of costume jewelry. 


Distinguished goldsmiths continued to flourish, however, as wealthier patrons sought jewelry that stood apart from that of the masses, with precious metals and stones but also superior artistic and technical work. 


It was during this period that a unique new category developed, quite in keeping with the philosophy of romanticism: mourning jewelry. It originated in England, where Queen Victoria was often seen wearing jet jewelry after the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert. This allowed the wearer to continue wearing jewelry even while in deep mourning for the death of a loved one.



In 1837, Charles Lewis Tiffany formed Tiffany & Co., putting the United States on the jewelry world map and gaining fame for creating dazzling commissions for people such as the wife of President Abraham Lincoln. Later the flagship store in New York would win fame as the setting of the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” In France, Pierre Cartier founded Cartier SA in 1847, while 1884 saw the founding of Bulgari in Italy. The modern production studio catering to the general public had been born, moving away from the dominance of individual craftsmen and wealthy patronage.


This was also the time of the first major collaboration between East and West: collaboration in Pforzheim between German and Japanese artists lead to Shakudō plaques set into filigree frames being created by the Stoeffler firm in 1885. The summit of the Romantic period in jewelry were the masterpieces of the Russian artist Peter Carl Fabergé, working for the Imperial Russian court, whose Fabergé eggs and jewelry pieces are still considered as the epitome of the goldsmith’s art.

Art Nouveau
In the 1890s, jewelers began to explore the potential of the growing Art Nouveau style and the closely related German Jugendstil and British (and to some extent American) Arts and Crafts Movement.


The many distinct features of Art Nouveau jewelry include a focus on the female form and an emphasis on color, most commonly rendered through the use of enameling techniques including basse-taille, champleve, cloisonné, and plique-à-jour. Popular motifs included orchids, irises, pansies, vines, swans, peacocks, snakes, dragonflies, mythological creatures, and the female silhouette.


A leading figure in this trend was René Lalique, working for the Paris shop of Samuel Bing. German input came from the Darmstadt Artists’ Colony and the Wiener Werkstätte, while in Denmark, Georg Jensen, though best known for his silverware, also contributed significant pieces. In England, Liberty & Co. and the British arts & crafts movement of Charles Robert Ashbee contributed more geometric but still characteristic designs. The new style moved the focus of the jeweler’s art from the setting of stones to the artistic design of the piece itself; Lalique’s dragonfly design is one of the best examples of this. Enamels played a large role in technique, while the most recognizable design feature remaining sinuous organic lines.


Art Deco
With the end of World War I, another change in public attitudes ushered in a more sober style of dress and ornament. In the 1920 and ‘30s, more effective manufacturing techniques for mass production of high-quality jewelry, combined with growing political tensions, the after-effects of the war, and a reaction against the perceived decadence of the turn of the 20th century all led to the popularity of a simpler style of jewelry known as Art Deco. Walter Gropius and the German Bauhaus movement, with their philosophy that there be no barriers between artists and craftsmen, led to new, stylistically simplified forms. Modern materials such as plastics and aluminum were also introduced, and of note are the chromed pendants of Russian-born Bauhaus master Naum Slutzky. Technical mastery became as valued as the material itself; in the west, for example, this period saw the reinvention of granulation by the German Elizabeth Treskow, in which precious metals are decorated with small spheres fused to a base piece.

Victoria's Secrets: The History of Jewelry, Part 3

The Middle Ages

Jewelry-making skills continued to develop in post-Roman Europe, with the Celts and Merovingians in particular noted for their jewelry, whose quality matched or exceeded that of Byzantium. The most common artifacts found from this era include clothing fasteners, amulets, and to a lesser extent signet rings. The torque, a large, rigid neck ring, was common throughout Europe as a symbol of status and power. By the 8th century, jeweled weaponry was common for men, while other jewelry (with the exception of signet rings) became the domain of women, who were often buried with all their jewelry. The Celts specialized in intricate continuous patterns and designs, while Merovingian designs are best known for stylized animal figures. The Visigoths also made quality pieces, as the numerous decorative objects found at the Anglo-Saxon ship burial at Sutton Hoo, in Suffolk, England, can attest. On the continent, cloisonné and garnet were perhaps the quintessential method and gemstone of the period.

To the east, the Byzantine Empire continued many of the methods of the Romans, although religious themes came to predominate in its designs. Unlike the Romans, the Franks, and the Celts, however, the Byzantines used lightweight gold leaf rather than solid gold, and placed more emphasis on stones and gems than just metalworking. As in the West, Byzantine jewelry was worn by wealthier females, with male jewelry apparently restricted to signet rings. As in other contemporary cultures, jewelry was commonly buried with its owner.

The Renaissance

The boom in world exploration brought major changes in jewelry development in Renaissance Europe. By the 17th century, world exploration and trade led to the increased availability of a wide variety of gemstones, as well as exposure to the art of other cultures. This period saw the increasing dominance of gemstones and their settings. A fascinating example of this is the Cheapside Hoard, the stock of a jeweler hidden in London during the Commonwealth period and not rediscovered until 1912. Among his treasures were Colombian emerald, topaz, amazonite from Brazil, spinel, iolite, and chrysoberyl from Sri Lanka, ruby from India, Afghani lapis lazuli, Persian turquoise, and Red Sea peridot, as well as Bohemian and Hungarian opal, garnet, and amethyst. Large stones were frequently set in box-bezels on enameled rings. It was in the 1660s that Jean-Baptiste Tavernier brought the stone that was to become the Hope Diamond to France.

When Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself Emperor of the French in 1804, he revived the style and grandeur of jewelry and fashion in France. Under his rule, jewelers introduced parures: suites of matching jewelry such as a diamond tiara, diamond earrings, diamond rings, a diamond brooch, and a diamond necklace, all part of a matching set. Both of Napoleon’s wives had beautiful sets such as these and wore them regularly. Another fashion trend resurrected by Napoleon was the cameo. Soon after his cameo-decorated crown was revealed to the public, cameos became highly sought-after. 

The Renaissance period also saw the early emergence of costume jewelry, with fish scale-covered glass beads in place of pearls or conch shell cameos instead of stone cameos. New terms were coined in France to differentiate the arts: jewelers who worked in cheaper materials were called bijoutiers while those who worked with expensive materials were called joailliers, a practice that continues to this day.

Next time: Romanticism, Art Nouveau, Art Deco

Victoria's Secrets: The History of Jewelry, Part 2

Mesopotamia

By about 4,000 years ago, jewelry making had become a significant craft in the Mesopotamian cities of Sumer and Akkad, in what is now Iraq. The Royal Cemetery of Ur, where hundreds of burials dating 2900–2300 BC were unearthed, produced evidence from tombs containing many artifacts in gold, silver, and semi-precious stones, such as lapis lazuli crowns embellished with gold figurines, close-fitting collar necklaces, and jewel-headed pins. In Assyria, men and women both wore lots of jewelry, including amulets, ankle bracelets, heavy multi-strand necklaces, and cylinder seals.

Jewelry in Mesopotamia tended to be manufactured from thin metal leaf and was set with brightly colored stones (chiefly agate, lapis, carnelian, and jasper). You can see many different shapes including leaves, spirals, cones, and bunches of grapes. Jewelers made pieces for people and also to decorate statues and idols. They developed a wide variety of sophisticated metalworking techniques, such as cloisonné, engraving, fine granulation, and filigree.

Mesopotamians kept extensive and detailed records about the trade and manufacture of jewelry, which have also been unearthed at various archaeological sites. One record in the Mari royal archives, for example, gives the composition of various items of jewelry:

1 necklace of flat speckled chalcedony beads including: 34 flat speckled chalcedony bead, [and] 35 gold fluted beads, in groups of five.

Greece

The Greeks started using gold and gems in jewelry in 1600 BC, although beads shaped as shells and animals were produced widely in earlier times. By 300 BC, the Greeks had mastered making colored jewelry and using amethysts, pearl, and emeralds. Also, the Greeks were the first to create cameos, using Indian Sardonyx, a striped brown pink and cream agate stone. Greek jewelry was often less elaborate than in other cultures, with simple designs and workmanship. However, as time progressed their designs grew in complexity and different materials soon emerged.

Jewelry in Ancient Greece was mostly worn for public appearances or on special occasions. It was frequently given as a gift and was mostly worn by women to show off their wealth, social status, and beauty. Some jewelry was believed to give the wearer protection from the “Evil Eye,” or give the owner supernatural powers, while other pieces had a religious symbolism. Older pieces of jewelry were dedicated to the Gods. The largest production of jewelry in these times came from Northern Greece and Macedonia.

The Greeks created jewelry using two different methods: lost-wax casting and hammered sheet metal. Casting had been practiced since the late Bronze Age; however, in Greece, fewer pieces of cast jewelry have been recovered. The more common form of Greek jewelry was the hammered sheet type. Sheets of metal were hammered to thickness and then soldered together. The inside of the two sheets were filled with wax or another liquid to preserve the metal work. Different techniques, such as using a stamp or engraving, were used to create motifs on the jewelry. Jewels could then be added to hollows or glass poured into special cavities on the surface.

The Greeks took much of their designs from the outlaying areas of their empire, such as parts of Asia conquered by Alexander the Great. In their earlier designs, other European influences can also be detected. When Roman rule came to Greece, their influence began to be felt in jewelry design. By 27 BC, Greek designs were heavily influenced by the Roman culture. That is not to say that indigenous design did not thrive; for example, numerous multicolored butterfly pendants on silver foxtail chains, dating from the 1st century, have been found near Olbia, with only one example ever found anywhere else.

Rome

Although jewelry work was abundantly diverse in earlier times, especially among the barbarian tribes such as the Celts, when the Romans conquered most of Europe, jewelry changed as Roman designs developed. The most common artifact of early Rome was the brooch, which was used to secure clothing together. The Romans used a diverse range of materials for their jewelry from their extensive resources across the continent. They used gold and sometimes bronze or bone, and in earlier times, glass beads, and pearls. As early as 2,000 years ago, they imported Sri Lankan sapphires and Indian diamonds and used emeralds and amber in their jewelry.

In Roman-ruled England, fossilized wood from Northern England, called jet, was often carved into pieces of jewelry. The early Italians worked in crude gold and created clasps, necklaces, earrings and bracelets. They also produced larger pendants that could be filled with perfume.

Like the Greeks, Romans often used jewelry to ward off the “Evil Eye,” given by other people. Although women wore a vast array of jewelry, men often only wore a finger ring. Although they were expected to wear at least one ring, some Roman men wore a ring on every finger, while others wore none. Roman men and women wore rings with engraved gems, used with wax to seal documents, a practice that continued into medieval times when kings and noblemen did the same. After the fall of the Roman Empire, Roman jewelry designs were absorbed by neighboring countries and tribes.

Next month: The Middl Ages and the Renaissance

Victoria's Secrets: The History of Jewelry, Part 1

The history of jewelry goes back almost as far as the history of humanity itself. The first signs that have been found of people wearing jewelry come from Africa, where beads with holes have been found that date back 75,000 years in a cave in South Africa. In Kenya, beads made from ostrich eggshells have been date to more than 40,000 years ago.

Outside Africa, the Cro-Magnon peoples made crude necklaces and bracelets of bone, teeth, berries, and stone, which they strung on pieces of string or animal sinew. They also made buttons out of carved bone. Some jewelry included pieces of shells or mother-of-pearl. Carved bracelets made of mammoth tusks have been found in southern Russia. We first find indication of using metal in jewelry around 7,000 years ago, with copper.

In addition to the other giant leaps human civilization made in ancient Egypt, 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, jewelry design and manufacture first became a big part of human art and decor. The Egyptians preferred the luxury, rarity, and workability of gold over all other metals. The domain of the wealthy, jewelry began to symbolize political and religious power in the community. Ancient Egyptians also included jewelry in burial rituals, dressing corpses in their gold finery for the afterlife.

Egyptian jewelry was predominantly manufactured in large workshops attached to temples or palaces. The ancient Egyptians were big fans of bright colors, and so often used colored glass in conjunction with gold, in place of the natural colors of precious gems. There was a more brightly colored glass formation that mimicked nearly each gemstone. The different colors meant different things: for example, the Book of the Dead dictated that the necklace of Isis around a mummy’s neck must be red to satisfy the goddess Isis’s need for blood, while green jewelry symbolized new growth for crops and fertility. Although lapis lazuli and silver, which were also popular, had to be imported from outside Egypt, most other materials were found in or near Egypt. For example, Egyptians mined the queen Cleopatra's favorite gem, the emerald, in the Red Sea.

Egyptian jewelry designs began to spread around the region, and can also found in ancient Phoenician jewelry. As the manufacture and wearing of jewelry became more widespread, it was common to trade between the Middle East and Europe, as suggested by ancient Turkish designs found in Persian jewelry. Women began to wear elaborate gold and silver pieces that were used in ceremonies. This would soon usher in an era of elaborate and extravagant personal adornment.