Ancient Jewellery

See also: Middle Eastern Jewellery - Egyptian Jewellery - Eastern Mediterranean & European Jewellery -Minoan Jewellery - Greek Jewellery - Roman Jewellery - Byzantine Jewellery - Medieval Jewellery - Eastern European & Near Eastern Jewellery

Ancient Jewellery : A Brief Historical and Geographical Overview

The owning and wearing of ancient jewellery is surprisingly accessible to the average collector's pocket. Even examples of ancient jewellery in the form of Roman and Greek gold jewellery can be acquired and easily adapted, if needed, for modern use. Ancient Roman gold earrings are frequently available as single pieces rather than as pairs, and these make wonderful pendants.

Introduction to Ancient Jewellery

Some of the available pieces of ancient jewellery on the market have originally come from stray finds: the frequent lost objects of antiquity, as well as from hidden treasure hoards found over the centuries and of course from grave goods finds.

In ancient times jewellery was significant in life and in death. Valuable and significant jewellery accompanied men and women in the after-life. Jewellery and other objects were also, in many ancient cultures, dedicated to the gods and pieces of ancient jewellery have also survived as votive offerings.

Jewellery was worn in ancient times in all cultures: as ornament, as badges of official and social position, and as emblems of religious and magical beliefs.

Ancient jewellery subsumed objects made of many kinds of materials such as bone, shells, wood, ceramics, metals, and minerals. More particularly, and as used here, the term is meant to refer to mounted semi-precious and precious stones and objects made of gold, silver, copper, and copper alloys.

This is intended to be a superficial overview of the types of ancient jewellery which are available to collectors and to non collectors who simply would like to wear ancient jewellery!

 

 

Forward to: Middle Eastern Jewellery & Egyptian Jewellery

(alternative spelling: ancient jewelry)