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The double-winged farohar motif surrounded by six Amesha Spentas (archangels). Achaemenid era Persian earring. Gold with cloisonné style inlays of turquoise, carnelian, and lapis
lazuli. Diameter: 5.1 cm . Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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Jewelry has been a form of visual communication from the start of human history, and from the beginning it has always assumed a form of personal adornment while it projected a type of status symbol up to the position of kings and emperors. It is likely that from an early date Jewelry was also worn as a protection from the dangers of life, and as a conduit for dealing with mystical aspects of culture. Jewelry made from shells, stone and bones has survived from prehistoric times. In the ancient world the discovery of how to work metals was an important stage in the development of the art of jewelry. Over time, metalworking techniques became more sophisticated and decoration more intricate. In many cultures, as we shall see, jewelry was frequently included in burials and at times was offered to various temples by believers. The contextual information uncovered through excavations provides important clues about beliefs, customs, cultures, relationships, and the use of jewelry as talismans. Of course, one has to be extremely careful in these types of analysis, as Megan Cifarelli(2009) has argued at times various exhibitions provide misleading information. For example, in the absence of detailed contextual information for the following Mesopotamian necklace an exhibition text was focusing on"the use of materials such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, carnelian, shell, and agate" Cifarelli argues:
As the exhibition text indicates, none of these materials was available locally, suggesting that they were valued not just for their beauty but because they were difficult to obtain. Gold, lapis lazuli, and carnel;ian were imported as raw materials: gold from Anatolia, Iran, and Egypt; carnelian from Iran and Indus Valley; lapis from the Badakhshan region of what is now Afghanistan. Two types of carnelian beads, those etched with alkali and long, biconical tubes, were likely crafted at Indus Valley Sites (...) Excavators have often published finds of beads as reconstructed "nrcklace" without articulating any rationale for the reconstructions, and these hpothetical reconstructions are perpetuated by scholars and museum displays. One such 'necklace is highlighted in the Mesopotamia case; it is a symmetrical grouping of beads typical of the late Early Dynastic period / Akkadian era and consisting of gold tubes, lapis lazuli in biconical and globular forms, long biconical carnelian tubes, etched and plain carnelian barrels, and carnelian lentoids etched with a white ring. Despite the persistent necklace reconstruction, paralles from Mohenjo Daro and possibly Ur suggest that these weighty carnelian tubes were used for hip and waist gridles rather than necklace.
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Mesopotamian carnelian, lapis lazuli, and gold beads, restored as a necklace, mid third millennium BC from Irak, Kish. Chicago, The Field Museum of Natural History. |
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Native American Indian ring |
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Native Indian American jewelry |
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African beads, jewelry and crafts |
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African bridal jewellery |
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African Collar |
Much archaeological jewelry
comes from tombs and hoards. The best-known ornaments in early
Neolithic graves in central Europe are those of the marine spondylus
shell, imported from the Aegean, or to a lesser extent from the Adriatic
coast. These ornaments are clearly connected to the richest burials and
must have been of extremely high value. They are the most important
evidence of long-distance connections through Europe in early to middle
Neolithic times (Séfériades 1995; Müller 1997; Kalicz and Szénászky
2001).
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Elite gold jewelry in the La Tène style from a 'chieftain's' grave at Waldalgesheim, in the Rhineland, Germany
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Today, the Akan tradition in
Ghana in Africa still believes in life after death – Saman Adzi, where
one continues life in relative luxury to when living. This is why
families bury their dead with basic items like clothing, jewellery,
hankies and money for the journey into the next world. Other burial
items differ from family to family. As early as the 15th century,
European merchants wrote about the richness of African gold objects used
for adornment and intended for public display. Gold deposits were
discovered in all regions of Africa, and became the most important
commodity during pre- colonial times. The region of the Akan, spreading
from the forest zone and costal areas of Ghana to the southern shores of
the Ivory Coast, is the richest auriferous zone in West Africa. Several
individual tribes make up the Akan people, the Asante and Baule being
among the most famous, all united by their common ancestry and language.
The royal courts of the Akan people were reportedly the most splendid
in Africa. Oral tradition and iconography in Akan works of art are very
closely connected. Verbal and visual symbolism tells stories or
proverbs. Imagery of royal power on court ornaments carry out messages
that helps keep the balance and continuity within the society.
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Akan Gold Bead Necklace |
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18th century African Beaded Necklaces |
Burying valuable objects with the dead has
also been a practice in China and other Asian countries for several
thousand years. In addition to gold, silver and other valuables, burial
objects include daily necessities, arts and crafts, the four treasures
of study (writing brush, ink stick, ink slab and paper), books and
paintings, tools of production and scientific and technological devices,
and these have turned many tombs into priceless underground treasure
houses, telling the vogues of the times. At the Cambodian sites of Vat
Komnou/Angkor Borei (Takeo province) and Village (Kampong Cham
province) about 100 burials of the 4th century BC to the 2nd century AD
with many offerings have been discovered.
Further, about 50 burials
excavated at Go O Chua in Long An province in southern Vietnam provide
additional information from the late phase of the Pre-Angkor period.
With its unusually rich offerings, the burial site of Prohear surpasses
all expectations. The burial sites of this region show clear cultural
similarities (e.g. high pedestalled bowls of the same shape and
ornamentation), but also display strikingly distinctive local features.
Thus, the wealth of gold offerings is without comparison at any other
burial site of the early Iron Age period in this region and the great
number of bronze drums from the site - although mostly undocumented - is
hitherto unique for the southern parts of mainland Southeast Asia, far
away from the Dong Son cultural area.
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Gold jewellery from different Cambodian burials |
In 2003, an archaeological expedition dug up a burial
mound in the Shiliktinskaya Valley to find a Golden Man – a presumed
leader of the Saka tribe, a branch of the Scythian nomads that populated
Central Asia
and southern Siberia in the 1st millennium BC. The pagan Saka fought the
ancient Persians, and grew rich
through trading across the great steppes of Central Asia. Some of their
wealth ended up in the tombs of their chieftains, who were buried
wearing jewelry and gold-plated armor – like the man in the
Shiliktinskaya mound, the third such find in Kazakhstan since 1970.
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Jewelry found in the burial mound of the first “Golden Man” in 1970 |
The Bronze Age civilization
that flourished on the Mediterranean island of Crete is known as the
Minoan. Because Crete lay near the coasts of Asia, Africa, and the Greek
continent and because it was the seat of prosperous ancient
civilizations and a necessary point of passage along important
sea-trading routes, the Minoan civilization developed a level of wealth
which, beginning about 2000 bce, stimulated intense goldworking
activities of high aesthetic value. From Crete this art spread out to
the Cyclades, Peloponnesus, Mycenae, and other Greek island and mainland
centres. Stimulated by Minoan influence, Mycenaean art flourished from
the 16th to the 14th century. Middle Minoan period, in Greece, when
rapid social changes took place, with palaces emerging for the first
time, but also being destroyed and having to be rebuilt. The Minoan
society was changing rapidly and the people associated with the palaces
needed consensus from the larger population, to affirm their social
ranking and maintain control.
The emerging social tensions increased the power of religion as a stabilizing force for maintaining the social structural of order. The
recurring iconography of a Minoan goddess descending on a throne seems
to became a key symbol of the legitimization of the new social
order. In the Bronze Age, Mycenaean people had strong spiritual beliefs
about an afterlife and the fact that we are seeing bodies that have been
embalmed and items buried with them, gives evidence for this. They
believed that once you die, your body needs to be respectably buried for
it to be able to move on and that you also needed objects from the
material world to take up with you in the after life. This was not only
for use in the afterlife, but they thought that to get to the afterlife,
you had to cross a river that charged a fare, so if you did not have
items to pay, then you would not get to
go to the next life. A profusion of gold jewelry was found in early
Minoan burials at Mókhlos and three silver dagger blades in a communal
tomb at Kumasa. Silver seals and ornaments of the same age are not
uncommon.
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Minoan Gold bracelet, the eyes and eyebrows were originally inlaid. |
The
first evidence of jewelry making in Ancient Egypt dates back to the 4th
millennia BC, to the Predynastic Period of along the Nile River Delta
in 3100 BC, and the earlier Badarian culture (named after the El-Badari
region near Asyut) which inhabited Upper Egypt between 4500 BC and 3200
BC. From 2950 BC to the end of Pharaonic Egypt at the close of the
Greco-Roman Period in 395 AD, there were a total of thirty-one
dynasties, spanning an incredible 3,345 years!
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Figure on the left shows a pectoral that hangs from a single string of cylindrical beads of blue faience and gold, a rearing
Uraeus guards, the Wadijet-eye and the hieroglyph Sa is placed beneath it on the inner side.
Figure on the right shows a pectoral scarab that contains gold, silver, cornelian, lapis lazuli, calcite, obsidian
and red, black, green, blue and white glass. The central necklace motifs consist of a bird with upward
curving wings whose body and head have been replaced by a fine scarab. It represents the sun about to
be reborn. Instead of a ball, the scarab is pushing about containing the scarab Wadijet-eye which is
dominated by a darkened moon, holding the image of Tutankhamun become a god, guided and
protected by Thoth and Horus. Heavy tassels of lotus and composite bud forms are the base of the
pendant.
The
earliest known record concerning the making of jewelry is found in
Egypt. It is here along the stone walls of the chapel chambers of
ancient tombs that the true history of jewelry begins. On these walls
are reproductions of the Egyptian lapidary at work. This craftsman was
essential to Egyptian jewelry for it was his job to cut and engrave the
many small stones found in almost all Egyptian work. During this time,
the jeweller was not only a skilled craftsman who made ornaments for
personal adornment, but a goldsmith and engraver of metals for any
purpose, including the minting of coins. Although the beginnings of
jewelry as we know it can be traced to this time, Egyptians also had
characteristic forms of jewelled ornaments for which we have no
equivalent. The pectoral is one of these.
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The piece on left is a bracelet made of gold, lapis lazuli, cornelian and turquoise. The gold bangle with openwork scarab is set in lapis lazuli. At the king and the clasp are clusters composed of fruit in yellow quartz, buds in cornelian and completed with gold rosettes. The piece on right contains the materials gold, lapis lazuli, green stone and coloured glass. This pendant consists of the Eye of Hours, symbol of the entity of the body, on the right Uraeus, wearing the royal crown of the north, on the left the Vulture of the south seem to be defend and protect the
Wadijet-eye which is to help rebirth
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Ancient
Egyptians began making their jewelry during the Badari and Naqada eras
from simple natural materials; for example, plant branches, shells,
beads, solid stones or bones. These were arranged in threads of flax or
cow hair. To give these stones some brilliance, Egyptians began painting
them with glass substances. Since the era of the First Dynasty, ancient
Egyptians were skilled in making jewelry from solid semiprecious stones
and different metals such as gold and silver. The art of goldsmithing
reached its peak in the Middle Kingdom, when Egyptians mastered the
technical methods and accuracy in making pieces of jewelry. During the
New Kingdom, goldsmithing flourished in an unprecedented way because of
regular missions to the Eastern Desert and Nubia to extract metals.
These substances were processed and inlaid with all sorts of
semiprecious stones found in Egypt; for example, gold, turquoise, agate,
and silver.
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The jewel on the left is a rebus for the throne name of
Tutankhamun, i.e. Nebkheperure, which can be translated as ‘Re is the lord of manifestation’. At the
bottom is a basket representing Neb made of turquoise. Above this is a lapis lazuli scarab beetle is the
sign for kheper, with three vertical lines below to make it plural. A cornelian sun disk is also visible,
symbolising of the sun god Re.
Figure on the right is a scarab pectoral made up of gold, cornelian, red and blue glass. This pectoral has an
exterior shape which is massively architectural. The interior decoration has as its principle motif a
stone scarab with wings. Its protection is assured by Isis and Nephthys; the words of the goddesses
and names of the king are inlaid in gold bands above the scarab. Again, the scene is dominated by the
solar disk, winged with rich feathers and accompanied by two protective Uraeus
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The ancient Egyptians placed great
importance on the religious significance of certain sacred objects,
which was heavily reflected in their jewelry motifs. Gem carvings known
as “glyptic art” typically took the form of scarab beetles and other
anthropomorphic religious symbols. The Egyptian lapidary would use emery
fragments or flint to carve softer stones, while bow-driven rotary
tools were used on harder gems.
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Amulet representing a ram-headed falcon. Ancient Egypt, 1254 BC (26th
year of the reign of Ramses II), found in the tomb of an Apis bull in
the Serapaeum of Memphis at Saqqara. Gold, lapis, turquoise and
cornelian. |
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Bracelet from the Oxus treasure, Achamenid period, British Museum. London. |
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Gold necklace, with king and flanking lions in carved lapis lazuli; Sassanian period, 5th - 6th century A.D. |
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Elements from a necklace, probably 14th century Iran
Gold sheet, chased and inset with turquoise, gray chalcedony, glass; large medallion |
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A Parthian empire collar necklace from a tomb in Tillia Tepe, Afghanistan. 1st. century AD
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Parthian gold jewelry discovered in graves located at Nineveh in northern Iraq. The Persian Empire collection of the British Museum. |
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"The Sun and Crescent Necklace" of a Mitraist Parthian King of Kings. This is one of the most rare ancient artifacts in the world with no known analogs of its kind. Parthian King. The necklace by itself represents the “Pleiades Star Cluster” A group of seven stars that were considered sacred in Persia . |
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Scythian Emulate |
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Bead necklace, Achaemenid period, c. 350 BC
Acropolis, Susa, Paris, Louvre Museum
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A bracelet set with roaring lion's heads, Paris, Louvre Museum
Lavishly decorated with gold, turquoise and lapis lazuli, this bracelet set with lion's heads from the Achaemenid Persian period reflects the taste of dignitaries of the empire for jewelry and luxury. This type of object features in the sculptures decorating certain monuments, notably the Archers' Frieze in the palace of Darius at Susa (522-486 BC).
This bracelet from the Achaemenid period is a smooth, solid circular bangle six millimeters thick, with a slight inward bend in the middle of the circle. Each end is tipped with a lion's head with distinct anatomical features, similar to those found on the reliefs and enameled-brick panels in the palace of Darius I at Susa, particularly the Lion passant (Louvre Museum, aod489a). The muscle structure is shown with "dots and commas." This stylization, common in Achaemenian art, and the threatening appearance of the lions are also found on a rhyton decorated with lion's heads (Teheran Museum), a sword handle (Teheran Museum) and a lion-shaped weight (Louvre Museum, sb2718). On this bracelet, the cheeks and top of each lion's head are set with turquoise and the ruff is in lapis lazuli. The eyes and muzzle were originally incrustated, and the mane is decorated in cloisonné with pieces of turquoise. On either side of the heads are alternating incrustations of lapis lazuli and turquoise.
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"This unique crown, consisting of a band of electrum 1.5 cm wide perforated to take tie-strings at the rear and mounted with rosettes and animals heads, appears to have been made in Egypt largely under Asiatic inspiration, if it is not an Asiatic import. In the Egyptian 18th Dynasty, it became the fashion to decorate the diadems of princesses and lesser queens with the figure of a gazelle's head in place of the uraeus or vulture of principal queens. This crown with its four gazelle heads may have been part of the trousseau of a foreign princess sent as a bride for one of the [Ancient Egyptian] Pharaohs according to the [international] diplomacy of the age." |
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Pendant representing a naked Goddess. Electrum, made by a Rhodian
workshop, ca. 630-620 BC. Found in the necropolis of Kameiros (Rhodes). |
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Pendant, Phoenicia 600BC-500BC, Gold set with green glass, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
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This piece of jewelry was one of the most beautiful antiques excavated from the Dingling, one of the w:Ming Dynasty Tombs. It was made during the w:Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) in China, by using gold, ruby, pearl and other gemstones, and of the size of an adult human's palm. It is of the shape of a Chinese character '心' (read Xin), which literally means heart. T |
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Collar known as The Shannongrove Gorget, maker unknown, Ireland, late
Bronze Age (probably 800-700 BC). Victoria &
Albert Museum, London. |
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Medallion with Eros, hair ornament, second half of the 3rd century BC, Hellenised Orient, Paris , Louvre Museum |
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Kingston Down brooch, Anglo-Saxon, early seventh-century. The ‘step’ pattern recalls the centre of the St Mark carpet page in the Lindisfarne Gospels. |
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Ancient Greek jewlry from Pontika (now Ukraina) 300 bC. It is formed in a Heracles knot. |
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Earrings, 4th century BC, Gold, The State Hermitage Museum
These gold filigree earrings were found during excavations of a burial mound in the environs of Theodosia. This is the most remarkable example of pieces executed in the so-called 'microtechnique' by Greek goldsmiths during the 4th century BC.
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The Arimaspi Fighting Griffins Calathos (headdress), Second half of the 4th century BC, Greek work, Gold, enamel,The State Hermitage Museum.
The calathos is part of the sumptuous headdress of a priestess serving the goddess of fertility, Demeter. It was found during excavations of the Bolshaya Bliznitsa burial mound on the Taman peninsula.
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A gold bracelet, weighing over 1.3 pounds and found on a victim in
Pompeii, was part of a traveling exhibit displayed at the Field Museum
in Chicago, Illinois in 2005 |
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A pair of first century earrings, from a tomb in Tillia Tepe,
Afghanistan, when they were on display at the 'Afghanistan, Rediscovered
Treasures' exhibition at Muse Guimet in 2006 in Paris, France. |
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Gold, set with table-cut emeralds, and hung with an emerald drop from
Colombia, currently exhibited at Victoria and Albert Museum |
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Gold and pearl earring found in the City of
David archaeological excavation below the Old City walls in East
Jerusalem, Israel, in November, 2008.
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Antique Nose Ring from India, with Gold, Pearls and Jadau work. 19th century. [courtesy Wovensouls collection]
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Andhra Pradesh Royal earrings 1st Century BCE |
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A gold broach with turquoise and a pearl, from the first century,
discovered in 1978 on the archeological site of Tillia Tepe in northern
Afghanistan. |
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First century earrings from a tomb in Tillia Tepe, Afghanistan.
Thierry Ollivier/Muse Guimet/Getty Images |
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Gold earring from Mycenae, Late Helladic I (16th century BC). |
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Ancient Egyptian collar necklace |
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Rosette, maker unknown, Tuscany, 530 BC. Victoria & Albert Museum, London. |
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Pendant Unknown maker England 1540 - 1560 Enamelled gold, set with a hessonite garnet and a peridot, and hung with a sapphire Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
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Ivy Wreath. Mid 4th century B.C., Dion Archaeological Museum |
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Oak Wreath. Mid 4th century B.C., Thessaloniki Archaeological Museum |
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Earrings decorated with a siren and sea shells , Late fifth century B.C., London, British Museum |
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Gold snake Bracelet , Greek-Hellenistic Period, first half of the 2nd century B.C, Pforzheim, Schmuckmuseum |
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This inlaid gold pendant from Tillya Tepe, Afghanistan, dating
from the first century AD, is heavily inlaid with different coloured
materials, including turquoise, garnet, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and
pearl, some of which are long-distance imports
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Necklace with Sapphire Pendant, bow about 1660, chain and pendant probably 18-1900. Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
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Breast ornament About 1620 - 1630, France (possibly) Enamelled gold, set with 208 table-cut and triangular point-cut diamonds, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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Bodice Ornament, About 1680 - 1700, Holland (possibly), Rose-cut diamonds and hessonite garnets set in gold and silver, Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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Bridal crown (brudkrona),
Sweden
18th or 19th century,
Silver partly gilt,
Victoria & Albert Museum, London
This small silver-gilt bridal crown has six upright openwork elements of renaissance inspiration, joined together at the top by a ring of silver-gilt wire, with applied winged angel's heads. There are numerous pendant leaves on all parts. The band at the base is decorated with pyramidal points and more winged angel heads in silver.
Throughout the world brides wear special jewellery, such as tiaras or crowns, to reflect this. In Scandinavia, bridal crowns are the most spectacular part of the wedding jewellery. Their design is based on medieval royal originals, and they are made of heavy silver, often gilded.
In Sweden all brides wore some kind of special headdress. Gilded silver crowns were worn particularly in the east of the country, but crowns made of cloth, richly decorated with ribbons, beads, and metallic lace, were also common. Swedish bridal crowns were originally full-size, but during the 18th century they became smaller, and were worn on the top of the head.
Bridal crowns were always expensive. The bride usually hired her crown, as few families were rich enough to own their own. In Sweden most were owned by the parish church. This tradition dates from the time when church weddings were not compulsory. The church provided rich crowns to encourage people to marry there.
The renaissance decoration of this crown is typical of Swedish crowns of the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the motifs used, such as angel's heads with wings, and leaf pendants, are also found on other pieces of Swedish traditional jewellery. It was bought for £9 at the International Exhibition, London, 1872.
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Enamelled gold pendant in the form of a three masted ship hung with pearls, Designed and made by Reinhold Vasters, Aachen, Germany About 1860, Victoria & Albert Museum, London |
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Bracelet;
Probably made by Charles Riffault for Frederic Boucheron,
Paris, France,
About 1875,
Gold openwork with translucent and plique-à-jour enamel set with pearls and diamonds, Victoria & Albert Museum, London
This bracelet was made by the reknowned Parisian jeweller Frédéric Boucheron (1830-1902). Boucheron gathered around him a team of fine designers and craftsmen to execute his work. Charles Riffault revived the technique of translucent or unbacked cloisonne enamelling, which he patented, but granted the monopoly of the process to Boucheron. From about 1864, Riffault executed enamels in this manner for Boucheron, who exhibited them at the International Exhibition in 1867 and 1878.
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Crown of Saint Wenceslas,
The St. Wenceslas Crown wrought of extremely pure gold (21 -22 carat), decorated
with precious stones and pearls - is the oldest item of the Crown Jewels. Charles IV had it made for his coronation
in 1347 and forthwith he dedicated it to the first patron saint of the country St. Wenceslas
and bequeathed it as a state crown for the coronation of future Czech kings, his successors
to the Czech throne. However, perhaps to the end of his days (1378) he continually had the Crown altered
and set with additional rare precious stones he managed to acquire. And so the crown developed
into its final contemporary image.
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Imperial Crown of the Holy Roman Empire, 10th century; in the treasury of Hofburg palace, Schatzkammer, Vienna.
The octagonal imperial crown, created in 962 for the coronation of Otto I and studded with precious stones. The imperial orb was created in the late twelfth century and the scepter in the fourteenth century.
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The Danish crown
Christian IV's crown of gold, enamel, diamonds and pearls, created 1595-1596 by Dirich Fyring in Odense.
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For the anointing of Christian V, a new Danish crown was made along with a throne of narwhal teeth (the unicorn's horn) and three silver lions. Made in 1670-71 by Made by Paul Kurtz in Copenhagen for King Christian V and was modeled after a crown worn by King Louis XIV of France. Prior to 1660 the crown was elective and there was no coronation in Denmark until absolutism became the style of rule. When the 1840 Constitution ended absolutism a coronation was no longer held. The Crown has since been used only for the castrum doloris (‘camp of woe’) at the death of the monarch when the crown is placed on the coffin. |
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The crown of Louis XV consists of an embroidered satin cap
encircled by a metal band; springing from this are openwork arches
surmounted by a fleur-de-lis, Paris Louvre Museum.
Louis XV's personal crown was designed by the jeweler Claude Rondé and
executed under the supervision of the young Augustin Duflos, jeweler to
the king at the Galeries du Louvre. Shortly afterwards, in 1723, again
working for Rondé, Duflos made a crown almost identical in design and
size for King Joseph V of Portugal. In 1725, Rondé delivered another
crown to the queen, similar in composition but smaller in size.
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Crown of the kings of Bavaria (gold, silver, diamonds,
imitation blue diamond, rubies, emeralds); Marie-Étienne Nitot (jeweller)and Jean-Baptiste Leblond (goldsmith), Paris 1806-07
On
1 January 1806 Elector Maximilian Joseph IV of Bavaria was proclaimed
King Maximilian Joseph I of Bavaria. Royal insignia were immediately
commissioned from craftsmen in Paris: a crown, sceptre, sword and belt,
imperial orb and seal container for the king, and a crown for the queen.
Among the artists at Napoleon's court who worked on the insignia was
the leading goldsmith of the day, Martin-Guillaume Biennais..
The insignia were duly delivered to Munich, but political events
precluded a coronation ceremony. In fact, no king of Bavaria was ever to
wear the crown in public. On occasions such as the accession of a ruler
to his throne and his lying in state the insignia were presented on
special cushions.
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The imperial crown of the Habsburg dynasty, inlaid with rubies, pearls, diamonds and a large sapphire. The magnificent golden crown was created in Prague by Jan Vermeyen, a renowned goldsmith from Antwerp.
The imperial scepter and orb were created about a decade later. |
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Kiani Crown of Iran was made for the coronation of Fathali Shah of Ghadjar Dinasty in 1797. |
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Iranian Crown was designed in 1925 by Saradjoddin Djavahery, modelled after the ancient crowns of Sassanid Empire of Persia (Iran). This was after the fall of the constitutional monarchy of Ghadjar dynasty in the first modern era military coup instigated by British. . |
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This necklace and earrings were originally part of a parure which Napoleon I presented to Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria on the occasion of their wedding in 1810, and which was subsequently bequeathed by the empress to Grand Duke Leopold II of Tuscany. The necklace alone comprises 32 emeralds (the center emerald weighs 13.75 metric carats), 874 brilliants, and 264 rose diamonds.
When Marie-Louise left Paris on March 29, 1814, she took all her jewelry with her; she had to return the Crown Jewels to the emissary of the Bourbons, but kept her personal jewelry items. She bequeathed the emerald parure to her cousin Leopold II of Habsburg, Grand Duke of Tuscany, whose descendants kept it until 1953, when it was sold to the jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels. The emeralds from the tiara were then sold one by one; a wealthy American collector bought the tiara and had it set with turquoises instead of emeralds before bequeathing it to the Smithsonian Institution in 1966. The comb was transformed, but the necklace and pair of earrings were fortunately preserved in their original state, and joined the Louvre's collection in 2004 thanks to the Fonds du Patrimoine, the Friends of the Louvre, and the museum's management.
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The most famous of the British crowns is the Imperial State Crown. This was re-made for the coronation of King George VI, in 1937 and is set with over 3,000 gems. The stones were all transferred from the old Imperial Crown, which had been re-made on a number of occasions since the 17th century, most recently for Queen Victoria in 1838. This crown incorporates many famous gemstones, including the diamond known as the Second Star of Africa (the second largest stone cut from the celebrated Cullinan Diamond), the Black Prince’s Ruby, the Stuart Sapphire, St Edward’s Sapphire and Queen Elizabeth’s Pearls. The Sovereign traditionally wears the Imperial State Crown at the conclusion of the coronation service, when leaving Westminster Abbey. It is also worn for the State Opening of Parliament.
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The legendary Koh-i-Nur (‘Mountain of Light’) diamond, presented to Queen Victoria in 1850, is now set in the platinum crown made for the late Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother for the 1937 coronation. This diamond, which came from the Treasury at Lahore in the Punjab, may have belonged to the early Mughal emperors before passing eventually to Duleep Singh. It was re-cut for Queen Victoria in 1852 and now weighs 106 carats. Traditionally the Koh-i-Nur is only worn by a queen or queen consort: it is said to bring bad luck to any man who wears it.
The Koh-i-noor, which means 'Mountain of Light' in Persian, was first recorded in 1306. A Hindu text at the time said: 'Only God or woman can wear it with impunity'.
Along with the Peacock Throne, Nādir Shāh of Iran brought the Koh-i-Noor to Persia in 1739. It was allegedly Nādir Shāh who exclaimed Koh-i-Noor! when he finally managed to obtain the famous stone,and this is how the stone gained its present name. There is no reference to this name before 1739. After the assassination of Nādir Shāh in 1747, the stone came into the hands of his general, Ahmad Shāh Durrānī of Afghanistan. In 1830, Shujāh Shāh Durrānī, the deposed ruler of Afghanistan, managed to flee with the diamond. He went to Lahore where Ranjīt Singh forced him to surrender it. Finally, Britain took it as part of the Treaty of Lahore, when it took control of the Punjab, in 1849.
The jewel was seized by the Empire's East India Company as one of the spoils of war and presented to Queen Victoria in 1850.
Prince Albert ordered the diamond, then weighing 186 carats, be recut to improve its brilliance.
It was reduced in weight by 42 per cent and cut into an oval brilliant weighing 109 carats.
The Koh-i-noor was then mounted into Victoria's crown among 2,000 other diamonds. |

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Gold Greek and Etruscan hinged bangle, 1880 to 1885 , Pforzheim, Schmuckmuseum |
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Silver gilt necklace by August Kiehnle, circa 1885, Archeological revival style from the 4th century B.C.- Greek , Pforzheim, Schmuckmuseum |
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A hat decoration for Fathali Shah of Iran, who wore it on a tall black woolskin hat. It can be clearly seen on a number of minature paintings of Fathali Shah, usually holding two white egret feathers.
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A Tiara in the Iranian Crown Jewels |
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A Tiara in the Iranian Crown Jewels |
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A Ruby Tiara in the Iranian Crown Jewels |
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The Noor-ol-Ain diamond Tiara became part of the Iranian Crown collection after Nader Shah of Iran invaded Northern India in 1739 and occupied Delhi. This extremely rare color of diamond came from the Golconda mines in Northern India, most likely the Paritala-Kollur Mine in Andhara Pradesh. According to legend, the Shah returned the crown of India to the Mughal emperor and took all of their vast treasure in exchange. |
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The Shield of Nadir Shah |
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A necklace in the Iranian Crown Jewels |
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A circa 1770 watch with works by Pierre Viala, Geneva , Pforzheim, Schmuckmuseum |
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A gem encrusted pitcher in the Iranian Crown Jewels |
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A gem encrusted dish cover in the Iranian Crown Jewels |
Wow,What a amazing collections.These collections are unique.Simple designs but looking great.Thank you.Zarah from Bizbilla
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