Medieval Jewelry

Antique jewelry The first antique jewelry items were made from improved tools. And usually they represented figures of animals and birds. Only later, Greeks began to make jewelry of metal. A beautiful and legal opportunity to decorate yourself with jewelry was only for visiting the theater, wedding, holiday and feast. The jewelry art of Greece was under the great influence of Egypt and Assyria masters’ works. Their favorite method was the use filigree with inclusions of glass, colored or small pearls. This technique allowed them to create an openwork pattern of the finest threads of gold and metal alloys. Pearls were not only particularly common in Greece. In archaic and classical times, Greeks wore jewelry made of precious metals without inserts of stones and minerals. Only from the end of the IV century jewelers started to use semiprecious and precious stones. Virtually all the jewelry items in Greece were made of precious metals – gold and silver with precious stones and ivory incrustations. Greeks were very careful about such things and made even special duplicates of clay or bronze. To create samples of antique jewelry, they used special containers of a certain shape and pattern to pour metal there. The earliest works of Greek jewelers were precious products depicting gods. Necklaces were in a high demand. And, first of all, necklaces made from chains, beads and pendants that repeat the shape of amphoras or animals. Intricate earrings also resembled images of the gods. Greek earrings, as a rule, consisted of two elements: a disk with the smallest pattern and inlay with hanging suspensions. Women of ancient Greece had at their disposal the numerous hair jewelry. There were masterfully executed hairpins with precious stones, diadems (that are popular now), as well as solemn wedding crowns made with golden leaflets and winged goddess in the middle. Greek women tried to emphasize elegance of their hands with the help of bracelets. They wore them not so much on the wrist, but on the shoulder. Some refined ladies also decorated their ankles with bracelets. Bracelets could appear as pearl threads or a weave of wires with images of animals or fantastic creatures. In a one word, ancient Greek women’s jewelry was made by skilled craftsmen with a good imagination. The history of Italian antique jewelry begins in the period of the Etruscan civilization. Among the precious stones, the most expensive and superior in the rarity and beauty, many ancient authors used sea pearls. Overflowing in the sun and translucent to the light, pearls have long been a luxury item for the Greeks and for the Romans. The very high cost of this material was due to its beauty and to its complexity. Consequently, women give preference to such jewelry because of it unusual color and delicate pearly luster. Therefore, lots of beautiful legends have connect with this creation of nature. According to them pearls is a moonlight petrified in the water – tears drops of angels or water from the hair of the goddess Aphrodite. These were not only simple ones: pearls were included in complex antique jewelry in combination with gold and colored stones, most often with Esmeraldas. For the production of jewelry, jewelers used not only metals, but also wood, glass and precious stones. Jewelry became for the Romans one of the main attribute of clothing. Brooches were widely used, and women began to wear pendants with perfume. The symbol of power in ancient Rome was ring, with which people could put stamps. 1 https://trends.jewelry/ Medieval jewelry When the Romans withdrew from northern and Western Europe under the impact of various warlike tribes, a single Roman style in the manufacture of gold jewelry has disappeared. However, no less spectacular medieval jewelry styles of Saxons, Goths, Franks, Alans were born. Ornaments covered the surface of lots of things. And jewelers could not change elements of ornaments. Interlacing symbolized the spiritual and earthly Path of man. Each image was considered a magical sign. Thus, birds considered heavenly messengers and each of them had its own omen. Pigeon was a symbol of love and spirituality, partridge was cunning, heron means vigilance. The dove was a symbol of prosperity and abundance. Snakes possessed healing power, fish was the embodiment of the Highest Wisdom. And a horse was an emblem of fertility goddesses. Celtic crosses symbolized the union of terrestrial and celestial forces. Jewelry with a secret was quite common and popular in The Middle Ages. 2 https://trends.jewelry/ Most often, they appeared in the form of massive rings, under the “crown” of which a secret casket was hidden. The main purpose of these boxes was hiding powder with poison. Brooches occupied the central place in the medieval jewelry business. Along with luxurious large clasps for raincoats, such medieval jewelry items appeared also for women. Like the first ones, they fasten the lapel of the cervical incision. This jewelry item has often reflected the personal attitude of the grantor to his lover. Sometimes Gothic brooches had even love inscriptions and mottos. Woven hands, pierced hearts, flowers, keys and similar motifs occurred in these objects repeatedly.. Rich people could wear long and curled hair. In addition, not only women, but men could decorate their hairstyles with gold headbands. Also women began to wear two braids and curled them over the ears as a “snail.” An ornament in the form of a convex hemisphere or a flap was a special medieval jewelry item for such hairdo. Such adornment was attached to the hoop on the head. Also medieval fashionistas used golden veils to complement such accessories. During The Middle Ages, there was a whole cult of fake jewelry. Even owners of expensive necklaces and other jewelry sometimes put on their exact copies, hiding the originals in a secret. The main material for jewelry decoration of those times was enamel. Rivaling with gems, it gave the same effect to the precious multi-colored surface. The greatest distribution of enamel was in France (especially famous was Limoges enamel) and in Germany. The color of the enamel characterized by a colorful and fresh color scheme. Cold shades of blue, blue, white or green emphasized with a gilded background, covered with a thin engraving. Products of medieval jewelry masters overloaded with brightly convex forms of stones (ruby, emerald, sapphire, pearls). But there appeared also such precious stones as rock crystal, topaz, amethyst and garnet. Both imported and local stones jewelers used manually without changes of its natural shape. 3 https://trends.jewelry/ Victorian jewelry Styles and movements of the Romantic era fit into the long years of the Queen Victoria reign. Finally, it was famous and great “Victorian era.” Since artistic styles and historical epochs did not have sharp boundaries, they were flowing from one to another. So it is sometimes not so easy to differentiate jewelry items from the same style. Victorian jewelry are full of greatness and pomposity, sensuality and romanticism. Formation of that period jewelry fashion is in the personality of the queen. Her tastes and ideas are all about the beauty. And even the events of Victoria’s life reflected the jewelry art. Iron jewelry were typical for those times. Ball evening Victorian jewelry have got the most beautiful and bright precious stones – emeralds, rubies, sapphires and, of course, diamonds. Soon ball gems got the addition of Australian opals, sapphires from Southeast Asia and notorious diamonds from South Africa. But the craving for pearls remained unchanged. Large pearls were 4 https://trends.jewelry/ collected in necklaces and earrings. Therefore, more fine framed colored gems – for cameos and miniatures. The tradition of creating mourning jewelry was born back in the seventeenth century. But the real popularization was during the reign of Victoria. She brought them into fashion after the death of her beloved husband Prince Albert. It is noteworthy that Victoria wore a mourning ring in memory of her beloved until her death. Therefore, Romanticism included mourning bracelets with miniatures. As a result, there were memorable bracelets with a miniature in the center (with the hair of the lovers). Hence, also mourning rings with insets of onyx. There were medallions, brooches and bracelets “with a secret”. Memorable Victorian jewelry included also different types of black materials. Such as jet, black glass, onyx, black enamel or painted horn. Thus, fashion for the very black color, which has survived to this day, has come. Traditionally, the mourning jewelry of the Victorian era carried a great semantic load and served three main purposes: 1. Memory of the dear and beloved person; 2. Memento mori – a reminder of the death and frailty of all living things; 3. Symbol of a social status. All the materials used for the manufacture of funeral Victorian jewelry had a certain significance. So, the white enamel as cover of the medallion meant that the deceased was an unmarried girl or virgin. Pearls could symbolize the loss of the child. Different colors spoke about different stages of mourning. According to strict Victorian jewelry rules, a period of particularly deep sorrow lasting two to three years required all formalities. Mourning medallions, rings and bracelets were the only adornments that people could wear. The love of Victorians for such things is also due to the fact that in the 19th century mortality at an early age was high enough. Men died in the war. Children died in infancy from malnutrition and disease. Women died during the childbirth. Epidemics of cholera and typhus carried off tens of thousands victims. Death was very common. And the average life expectancy was only 50 years. So the funeral processions on the streets were part of everyday life for the Victorians.

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