The wort knowing historical beginnings of jewelry designs had been influenced by diverse customs or traditions, remote and civilizations, burying the departed with lavish garments and ornaments. Apart from these, there were also famous works of art such as sculptures, mosaics and paintings which distinctively depicted the numerous abstracts of various accessories worn by people during a particular era.
Before the discovery, use and proliferation of precious metals, jewelry designs were fashioned from seashells, fishbones, fish teeth and colored small stones. Inland residents made use of dead animals to be in the groove of latest trinket designs such as the antlers of reindeers, tusks of mammoths and animal bones among others. To come up with amazing byproducts, animal skins and delicate feather of birds were employed as adequate decorations.
Through the years, there were drastic changes insofar as the people’s way of life is concerned. From a nomadic existence, social order was restored as well as the birth of ancient civilization. Jewelry designs have beautifully transcended into the sudden discovery of the so called alluvial virginal deposits of minerals like gold and precious stones.
Magnificent jewelry designs had multiplied since time immemorial. Among its classic examples were the following: sparkling hair crowns, diadems, tiaras, hairpins, combs and nose earrings. Furthermore, human arms were more pleasing to the eye with the presence of bracelets and rings with unique figures and inscriptions.
The Middle and Eastern antiquities and their fascinating jewelry designs began with a tomb exploration of Queen Puabi’s tomb at Ur and Sumer. Inside her crypt, the body was luxuriously covered with gold, silver, carnelian, agate and lapis lazuli precious gems. There were strange talismans in fish forms of gold and lapis lazuli. Her sacred head bore gleaming diadems which were fastened into wide band. Additionally, her forehead was covered with huge interlocking rings. Over the flashy diadems are gold flowers with leaves that seem to be drooping to signify a mystical significance. A sophisticated necklace embellished with three layers of semi-precious stones were also found.
Moreover, countless rings were worn on fingers alongside with numerous quantities of other big jewels as integrals of the continuously evolving jewelry designs. Some of the most popular ones include arm bracelets and pectorals. Commonly, these adornments were worn by handmaidens, foreign dignitaries and even horses. Sumerian jewelries were comprised of those fully developed craftsmanships which involved welding, alloying, stone cutting and enamelling. The founts of inspiration are conglomerated with geometric principles, vegetation and animals.
Egypt’s characterizing jewelry designs were courtesy of impeccable Egyptian artisans and brilliant goldsmiths. Their finest jewelry collections were composed of enormous gold trinkets which are currently in a Cairo Museum. Surprisingly, the inner section of a Pharaoh’s coffin were made of real gold. Likewise, known mummies had been covered with gold. These incomparable jewelries had adopted the scientific principles of homogeneity conglomerated with magical and religious beliefs. The balanced and harmonious symmetry of iconography was extremely revealing. Huge symbols were evident with detailed meanings and names.
Knowing these eye-popping jewelry designs will bring us to a remarkable awakening and realizations that these dainty and historic fashion statements are truly the mesmerizing epitomes of power, social status and prestige which are holistically embodied into our modern fashion mainstream regardless of gender and a divergent aesthetic value and viewpoint.
