If you browse art museums’ gift catalogs this Christmas you’ll notice many necklaces and bracelets that are inspired by Egyptian jewelry. The style is distinctive with eads in blue, green and red, golden drops and spacers, simple color combinations. Dave has given me three Egyptian-styled necklaces from the art museums, which I love wearing but knew nothing about the meaning of the stones or colors.
Carol Andrews, author of Ancient Egyptian Jewelry, shows and describes many pieces from over 4000 years of Egyptian culture and includes details about the tomb where found or the original owner. She uses a numerical index on photos that correspond to small numbers in the margin by the description, a big benefit because the photos are often separated by many pages from the description.
I got the book expecting to be dazzled by photos but in fact the text was more interesting. My favorite chapters covered the materials and techniques. Ms. Andrew does a wonderful job describing what materials the Egyptians used, how they varied over time and where the artisans sourced the stones. She vividly brings the jewelry workshops to life by showing tomb paintings, some that include workers’ conversations, and explaining what the pictures meant.
A few things that fascinated me were:
- All Egyptians wore jewelry all the time. Lower class people wore less costly strung beads while richer folks indulged in gold and highly crafted inlaid or multi-string pieces.
- Jewelry was adornment yes, but also highly symbolic.
- Jewelry styles did not change all that much over 4000 years. The Egyptians favored the same colors and the same motifs – falcons, scarab beetles, cobras, favorite divinities – all through the dynastic era.
- Techniques and materials changed and some elements waned and waxed in popularity. For example, amethyst was popular in the Middle Kingdom but wasn’t used much at all after that. She noted the purple color wouldn’t have gone well in the inlay styles favored in the New Kingdom.
- Egyptians used a lot of common-as-dirt materials! They viewed lapis lazuli as the primo gem, green turquoise and carnelian as also precious. But they were happy to use limestone or jasper, or even colored cement underneath quartz.
- They used gold and silver and the alloy electrum and viewed gold as the divine metal.
- Much of the jewelry buried with mummies was made on purpose for the tomb. They were often more skimpy, not really wearable, and used inferior materials. For instance in order to wear one of the big, heavy pectorals, the piece had to have a counterweight that lay on one’s back. Funerary jewelry lacked the counterweights.
- Egyptians wore white linen and used the jewelry for color.
Overall I recommend Ancient Egyptian Jewelry if you are interested in ancient history, jewelry in general, or want a lively and engaging look at 4000 years of high culture.
5 Stars
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