Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Jewelry

Take a look at ancient Egyptian art and you'll notice something interesting

. What is it you may ask? Everyone is wearing jewelry that we would consider to be vapid, overly intricate and highly ostentatious. The truth is that jewelry played a big role in the lives of ancient Egyptians. We'll take a look at what forms of jewelry were popular in ancient Egypt, what role they played and how they were made.

As previously mentioned, most ancient Egyptians wore jewelry. Earrings, armlets, anklets and bracelet were especially popular. Rings and pendants could be used to ward off evil. Beaded collars, necklaces and amulets were worn by the rich.

The ancient Egyptians used gold, bronze, electrum, and bronze in their jewelry making. Gold was especially favored by ancient Egyptian pharaohs and uncovering a pharaoh's tomb usually yields carats upon carats of intricate gold jewelry. If you ever have the opportunity of seeing King Tut's tomb, you'll know exactly what I mean.

They believed that certain sacred objects, such as jewelry, had their own powers. Religious symbols were common motifs in Egyptian glyph art and usually took the form of scarab beetles and other religiously significant animals. An ancient Egyptian jewelry maker used flint to carve out of soft stones and used rotary tools on tougher gems. The favorite soft gemstones were: Lapis Lazuli, malachite, quartz, Carnelian, turquoise and jasper. Lapis Lazuli from Persia was a powerful signifier of wealth and status.

Wearing an intricate jewel in the grave meant that a person was of high-status in ancient Egyptian society. The hierarchy between pharaohs, queens, priests, warriors and peasants could be seen by how they were adorned with jewelry in the grave. Pharaohs and their queens were buried with vast displays on wealth on their bodies and decorated in their tombs. Being buried with jewelry meant that the deceased individual would have a pleasurable experience in the afterlife.

The Middle Kingdom of the ancient Egyptians created different processes to manufacture jewelry. These new methods were innovative and would not be seen again until the time of Rome. Instead of using tough gemstones, the ancient Egyptians used beautiful polychrome glass. The ancient Egyptians created a cold working glass method. This allowed them to form the glass into amulets and beads. Silica-sand from vitreous glass glaze was used to cover clay objects and soapstone was used to create an inlay in jewelry.

Ancient Egypt is now long-gone, but it's tradition of creating beautiful works of jewelry remains with us today. The jewels of the orient don't appear to have lost their luster.

Ancient Egypt: Obsessed with Jewelry

By: Diane L.J. Nassy

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