The History of Jewelry: Jewellery of Mesopotamia

Assyria and the Gold of Nimrud

Perhaps one the greatest surviving treasure-troves of ancient jewelry and artifacts is the so-called "Gold of Nimrud," or Nimroud, which was found in the tombs and throne-room of the Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud. The Nimrud complex was situated to the south of the ancient Assyria capital of Nineveh (modern-day Mosul, Iraq), along the Tigris river. Although the ruins at Nimrud was discovered in 1848 by a British archeologist named by Sir Austen Henry Layard, the treasures that were hidden beneath the ruins lay undisturbed until 1988, when an Iraqi archaeologist named Muzahim Mahmud noticed that floor tiles within the ruins had been relaid at some point in the distant past.

In terms of their sheer volume and wealth, the treasure hoard at Nimrud has been compared to that of Egytian king Tutankhamen. Astonishingly, these treasures were also overlooked by the ancient Medes and Scythians, who had sacked the Nimrud palace in 612 BC.

In one tomb alone, there were over 450 items of gold and silver jewelry weighing around 22.5 kilograms! These included a single gold crown and diadem, 14 amulets, 79 earrings, 90 necklaces, 30 rings, and 15 gold or rock-crystal vessels. The Nimrud treasures were on display in the Assyrian galleries of the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad until 2003, when the museum was looted during the Iraq invasion. Some of the treasures were spirited off to wealthy collectors in Europe, but many of the items were hidden for safe keeping, and are now on display as part of the touring "Gold of Nimrud" exhibit [14, 15].

Many historians believe that the great Akkadian emperor Sargon of Akkad was the inspiration for the mythical figure Nimrod, who was a Mesopotamian monarch mentioned in the Book of Genesis. Nimrod, who's name is derived from the Hebrew word marad, meaning "rebel," was credited for constructing the "Tower of Babel" [16], which was an ancient ziggurat, or man-made "mountaintop" with a temple at its peak.

Babylonia

The city of Babylon was transformed into one of the "seven wonders of the ancient world" under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 630—562 BC) from the Chaldean Dynasty. The city became famous for the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon," shown in the speculative 16th century engraving by Dutch artist Martin Heemskerck (above, right). The city made for a tempting target, and in 539 BC, Babylon was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great, who breached the city's fortified walls and its infamous Ishtar Gate. Under the Persian king Darius the Great, Babylon became the capital city of the 9th Satrapy of Persia.

The Mitanni

The Mitanni and Hurri were two of several minor kingdoms that were founded by the Indo-Iranians in Mesopotamia and Syria. These Indo-Iranian empires were centered in northern Mesopotamia, and flourished from about 1500 BC to 1360 BC. The Indo-Iranians were probably members of Aryan tribes that later settled in the Indus Valley, but they broke off and migrated to Mesopotamia where they settled among the Hurrian peoples becoming the ruling noble class, called the maryannu.

The Phoenicians

The Phœnician civilization was a maritime trading culture whose influence spread across the eastern Mediterranean between 1550 BC and 300 BC. The Phoenicians were based in Canaan, in the city-states of Tyre (modern-day Lebanon and Israel), and Sidon (modern-day Syria).

The name "Phœnicia" was derived from the Latin word punicus, and the Greek word phoînix, for the purple dyes they manufactured. They were particularly well known for their highly-prized Tyrian purple dye (aka: royal purple, imperial purple), and indigo dye (aka: royal blue or hyacinth purple), which were made from the glandular secretions of a predatory sea snail (gastropod) known as Haustellum brandaris (Murex brandaris).

Phoenician traders would deal in exotic gems and materials that were imported from Asia Minor and the Orient, via the Silk Road. The Phoenician culture was known for the art of granulation which they learned from the Etruscans. The Phoenicians were also known for their interesting glass beadwork motifs, sometimes taking the form of a simple mosaic, and sometimes taking the form of whimsical bearded seafarers. In fact, the Phoenicians may have been the first culture to develop the technique of glass core-forming. It was in this region that the technique of glass-blowing may have been invented during the 1st century BC.

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The History of Jewelry: Jewellery of Mesopotamia

Considered to be one of the cradles of civilization, the Mesopotamian, or "Sumerian" culture flourished from the pre-pottery Neolithic (Hassuan) period of around 8,000 BCE, through the Late Bronze Age of around 1,200 BCE. Mesopotamian civilization relied on the life-giving rainfall of the region's "Fertile Crescent," and by the Ubaid period, around 5,000 BCE, village settlements began to spring up near the mouth of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, in present-day southern Iraq.

The first great city of the Sumerian culture was Eridu (present-day Tell Abu Shahrain, Iraq), which may have been founded as early as 5,400 BCE. Until recently, it was believed that the Sumerians developed the first written language [6], but this is now being attributed to the ancient Egyptians. After a long succession of ruling dynasties beginning with the First Dynasty of Kish, and ending with the Third Dynasty of Uruk, the first great empire arose in the land of Sumer. The Akkadian Empire was founded by Sargon of Akkad (aka: Sargon I, Sargon the Great) who ruled from 2270 to 2215 BCE.

Towards the end of the Akkadian Empire, king Ur-Nammu (2112—2095 BCE) ushered in the 3rd dynasty of Ur (aka: Ur III, or the "Sumerian Renaissance"), and a complex network of trade developed around the city of Ur. After the fall of Ur III, greater Mesopotamia was ruled by the Amorites (1953-1730 BC), then by the Babylonian Empire (1728—1686 BC) which ruled the lower Mesopotamian marshlands between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (Babylon), and the Assyrians who ruled upper Mesopotamia from the city of Assur along the Upper Tigris river near Anatolia. In around 1180 BC, the Assyrians were conquered by the Hittites, who had ruled the Central Anatolian plateau since the 18th century BC, but to the south, Babylonia continued to flourish.

Mesopotamian Jewelry

Mesopotamian jewelry was constructed from bronze, gold, silver, and the natural alloy known as electrum, which was imported from Lydia (Anatolia). Exotic gemstones such as agate, chalcedony, carnelian, jasper, onyx, lapis lazuli, and sardonyx were not locally produced [3], and had to be imported from such far-away lands as Anatolia, Egypt, and Persia (Iran and Afghanistan). Jewelry production extended from the cities of Akkad and Assur in Assyria, to the Babylonian cities of Nineveh, Sumer, and Ur.

Raw materials such as ivory, lapis lazuli and exotic hardwoods, as well as carved carnelian beads were also purchased from Harappan merchants who sailed over 1,500 miles from the Indus Valley [4].

Jewelry in Mesopotamia was worn liberally by both women and men, and popular items included multi-strand necklaces of carnelian and lapis (photos below), gold earrings, hair ribbons made from thin gold leaf, ankle bracelets, silver hair rings, gold medallion pendants with elaborate filigree, signet rings, cylinder seals, and amulets.

Popular jewelry design motifs in Mesopotamian included leaves, twigs and bunches of grapes, or cone and spiral shaped objects and pendants. Jewelry craftsmen employed a wide variety of metalworking techniques such as cloisonné enameling, engraving, granulation (later history), filigree and repoussé. Jewelry was made for human use, as well as for adorning statues and idols.

The Babylonian cylinder seal was a type of signet stone that was one to three inches long, and carved with an elaborate intaglio design that depicted both mythical scenes, and a unique personal signature [8]. Text was in cuneiform which was the written language of the Sumerian, Akkadian and Elamite cultures. These cylinder seals were typically made from chalcedony, jasper, serpentine or soapstone. These cylinders were used to mark/seal shipments that were destined for some distant land along the ancient Silk Road.

The use of signets or personal seal-stones may have also been responsible for creating the art of gem-carving known as "glyptic art." Glyptic carvings were used on ring-stones which were worn by men, women and children. The ancient lapidary would use emery fragments or flint to carve softer stones, and rotary tools driven by a bow were used on harder materials.

Jewelry was buried along with its male or female owner, and in the Royal tombs at Ur an extensive amount of jewelry was uncovered in the graves of both noblemen and noblewomen.

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HISTORY OF JEWELRY and ORIGIN: Jewellery of China 2

Chinese Jewellery Motifs and Materials

The dragon and phoenix were popular motifs in early Chinese jewelry, and remain so today. The dragon represents the primal forces of nature, and the universe, and are associated with wisdom and longevity. The "five-clawed" dragon was a symbol of Chinese emperors, while the phoenix, or fenghuang was the symbol of the Chinese empress.

The earring was one of the more common items of Chinese jewelry, which could be worn by either the man and the woman. Earrings could be quite complicated and large. Early Chinese jewelry was fabricated using silver as a dominant metal, along with modest amounts of gold and bronze.

Without a doubt, one of the most prominent, and prized materials used in Chinese jewelry was jade, known as "Chinese Imperial Jade." Jade was ascribed with human-like attributes such as beauty and toughness. Jade was used as a talisman to protect the wearer and as a status symbol indicating the dignity, grace and morality of the owner.

Most of the jade used in China prior to the 17th and 18th centuries was nephrite, which was also known as "Ming Jade." There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says: "gold is estimable, but jade is priceless." Early jade rings show evidence of being worked with an early type of compound milling machine. Saltwater pearls were another indigenous gem that was popular throughout China.

Today in China, pearls (freshwater and saltwater), jade (nephrite and jadeite), and cloisonné enameling remain the most popular gemstone materials in China. The Chinese don't forget the past, and these gems are an integral part of their culture, heritige, and spirituality.

China's Ancient Silk Route

The ancient "Silk Road," or "Silk Route," was not a single passage-way but an extensive interconnected network of 5,000-mile-long trade routes that traversed the Asian continent connecting China and Southeast Asia with the Indus Valley and Persia, as well as the ancient Mediterranean cultures of Canaan, Egypt, Mycenae and Rome.

Although the name implies that silk was traded along these routes, this was certainly not the only commodity to be imported from east to west. During the 3rd millennium BC, semiprecious gems such as lapis lazuli, and goods such as Egyptian cotton made their way east along the Silk Road, while jade, ivory, beeswax, camphor, musk and silk from China, Borneo and India made their way westward.

Under the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907), and its powerful general Su Dingfang, China controlled the entire Silk Road as far west as Aria (present-day Herat, Western Afghanistan), enforcing its rule with the help of the Göktürks who now carried Chinese titles, and fought side-by-side with the Chinese to maintain control.

During China's Eastern Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) a sea route was added to the Silk Road land routes. The sea route began at the mouth of the Red River near modern-day Hanoi, traveling through the Malacca Straits of Southeast Asia, to Sri Lanka and India, then on to the Persia, Axum (modern-day Ethiopia) and Rome.

Blue was, an still is an "Imperial" color in China, used to symbolize royalty and/or rank, and blue enameling was used to embellish royal ornamentation. Blue kingfisher feathers were sometimes affixed to jewelry headpieces as decorative accents.

In China, jewelry was worn by both sexes to show both nobility and wealth. Women wore an assortment of jewelry which could include a headdress or a simple head-band that was similar to the women of the Indus Valley. Jewelry, religious amulets and other decorative items were often placed in the graves of the deceased upon burial. Rulers and high officials were buried with jade artifacts to protect in the afterlife, and some royalty were even buried in a full suite made of green jadeite.

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HISTORY OF JEWELRY & ORIGIN: Jewellery of China 1

The practice of jewelry making in China began over 5,000 years ago, during the Yangtze Delta's Middle Neolithic Yang-Shao and Lungshanoid cultures. As Chinese jewelry design developed, elaborate design motifs were adopted which had specific religious significance, and were traditionally used in Buddhist ceremonies.

Early Chinese history begins with the mythical "Three Sovereigns" (Three August Ones) who were Fu Xi (Fu Hsi) the "Heavenly Sovereign," Nuwa the "Earthly Sovereign," and Shennong the "Human Sovereign." The Three Sovereigns were mythological rulers of China, and god-kings, during the period from c. 2852 BCE to 2205 BCE, preceding emperor Yu (aka Sì Wénmìng or "Yu the Great") of the Xia Dynasty. Nuwa was a feminine creator goddess who was credited with creating mankind, and repairing the wall of heaven. Nüwa was typically depicted with a serpent's body.

According to Chinese mythology emperor Huang-di (known as the "Yellow Emperor") is said to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese, becoming a main deity of Taoism during the Han Dynasty. Huang-di reigned from 2497 BCE to 2398 BCE, and is said to have lived to 100 years of age, fathering over 25 children. Legend has it that his wife, Luo Zu, taught the Chinese how to weave the silk from the silkworm. Upon Huang-di's death it is said that a Dragon came down from Heaven, carrying him away. Alternativly, Huang-di himself turned into half-man half dragon and flew away.

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HISTORY OF JEWELRY and ORIGIN Egyptian Jewelry II

Jewelry coloration was very important to the ancient Egyptians, and each color had a different symbolic meaning. Jewelry that featured the color green was meant to symbolize fertility and the success of new crops, while according to the Egyptian "Book of the Dead" a deceased person would wear a red-colored necklace which was meant to satisfy the God Isis' need for blood.

A jewelry item's motif was as important as its color, and no symbol was as important to the ancient Egyptians as the scarab, or dung beetle. Scarab amulets were symbolic of rebirth due to the dung beetles proclivity for rolling a piece of dung into a spherical ball, then using it as a brooding chamber from which the newborn beetle will emerge

Egyptian jewelry items included such commonly found ornamentation as bracelets, brooches, clasps, coronets, girdles, and earrings, but also included items that were unique to ancient Egypt. The pectoral, which is an ornamental item that has been found on many mummies, is an elaborate breast decoration that was suspended by chain or ribbon, and decorated to represent various dieties. There was also a unique headdress that formed a type of outer wig, flowing like waves of hair in long, flexible strands of gold beads. This was held in place by a gold diadem, which was designed to secure the wig during ceremonies. The diadem was also worn by the mummy, to protect the king's forehead in the hereafter. Even mundane household objects such as vases, plates and furniture were made of hammered gold, festooned with jewels.

Although many treasures were lost to tomb-robbers and piracy, one insignificant king's treasure remained intact and unmolested for thousands of years. That king was the now famous Pharaoh Tutankhamun, son of either Amenhotep III or Akhenaten. His short reign as Pharaoh began at age 9. Although he ruled for only 9 years (1336—1327 BC), he was able to amass a modest legacy of wealth and treasure that lives on today. Given the size and scope of Tutankhamun's wealth it is hard to imagine the vast treasure accumulated by long-reining kings such as Seti I or Ramesses II.

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HISTORY OF JEWELRY AND ORIGIN: Egyptian Jewelry

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.

Monument building, along with opulent collections of furniture, art, and jewelry helped to symbolize the glory, power, and religious dominance of the Pharaohs, both within the community, and throughout the broader region. This projection of wealth was not only important in one's earthly life, but became especially important in their after-life.

In ancient Egypt both men and women wore jewelry; not only as a symbol of wealth and status, but also for aesthetic adornment, and as protection from evil. Although the deceased was always buried with their earthy possessions, tomb-robbers have plundered much of Egypt's buried treasures long ago. Amazingly, much of the stolen treasure would be recycled by successive Kings for their own use in the afterlife.

Gold was the metal of choice for the Ancient Egyptians, and it was used extensively throughout the several thousand year history of pharaonic Egypt [2]. Bronze was also used extensively, and would sometimes be covered in gold-leaf. The Egyptians also used an alloy of gold, silver and a trace amount of copper called "electrum," which occurred naturally in Lydia (Western Anatolia). Electrum was mentioned in an expedition sent by the Fifth dynasty Pharaoh, Sahure.

Although the Egyptians had access to many precious gemstones, they preferred to emulate their colors using polychrome glass, because natural gemstones were much harder to work with. The use of cold-worked glass in jewelry may have been an invention of the Middle Kingdom, around 2000 BC. Solidified glass was also formed into beads, amulets and shawabtis, which were small figurines that were buried with the deceased. Clay objects known as "faience ware" were coated with vitreous glass glaze made of silica-sand, clay, and soapstone (steatite), and glass was used as an enamel inlay in metal jewelry. Egyptian enameling was the precursor to cloisonné, and the rich opaque enamel colors included cobalt or turquoise blue, green, purple, and white.

There were also several softer gems that were perennial favorites with the ancient Egyptians. Carnelian, jasper, lapis lazuli, malachite, rock crystal (quartz) and turquoise were all used extensively throughout ancient Egypt. In many ancient cultures royalty was represented by the color blue, and this was especially true in ancient Egypt, making lapis one of the most prized of all gemstones.

Most of the raw materials that were used to make jewelry were found in, or near Egypt, but certain prized materials such as lapis lazuli were imported from as far away as Afghanistan. One locally-obtained gemstone which was said to be Queen Cleopatra's favorite was emerald, which was mined near the Red Sea, at the Wadi Sikait Emerald Mines in Mons Smaragdus, Egypt.

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HISTORY OF JEWELRY & ORIGINFIRST EVIDENCE

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 c.4500 BC and c.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!

The first pharaohs of Egypt were kings Serket I and Narmer, at the beginning of the "Early Dynastic Period" (1st-3rd Dynasties, from 2850—2575 BC). The remaining twenty eight dynasties were divided into eight sub-groups which ended with the demise of the Greco-Roman Period in 395 AD. It was during this final chapter that Egypt was ruled by the Macedonians, Ptolemies, and finally the Romans

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