Ancient Greek Jewellery

Each society had its own conceptions of beauty. Greece was not a country with abundant gold reserves. Therefore, occupations related with gold such as goldsmiths were not common. However, this does not mean that jewellery was not used by the Greek. Moreover, Jewellery was not only used to attract attention or beautify oneself, but also to ward off evil powers. Some ornaments were believed to have magical powers.

The earliest ancient Greek jewellery may be traced back to 1600 BC. Use of jewellery progressed rapidly during the 9th century when Greece acquired contacts with the gold markets of the east and Egypt. Jewellery dedicated to gods has been found. Semi-precious stones and beads shaped like shells and animals were the characteristics of early Greek jewellery. The Hellenic period from 330 to 27 BC influenced Greek jewellery than any other period.

Most of the Greek jewellery was made of gold and silver. However, Ivory, gemstones, clay, bronze were also used. Necklaces, earrings, armbands, thigh bands, rings, pendants, pins, bracelets, wreaths, diadems, and other hair ornaments were worn by the ancient Greek woman. The commonly used Gemstones in jewellery were amethyst, pearls, chalcedony, cornelian, garnet and emeralds.

Wreaths were a peculiar type of jewellery. They refer to honorary accolades of important people, such as winners in athletic or other events. Diadems were the crows of royal families. Bracelets were used both in the hands and the wrist. Rings were small and beautiful and began to be used even from the Neolithic period onwards. They were buried in tombs or offered in altars. Earrings were sometimes unusually large. They were also of peculiar shapes. Earrings decorated with a siren and seashells at the endings were found from the 5th century BC. Broaches were first found during the Mycenaean years.

Jewellery had in them images of animals and insects. It also depicted shells together with motif depicting men, women and mythological figures and entire heroic scenes. Designs included and shells together with motif depicting men, women and mythological figures and entire heroic scenes.

The Greeks were skilled the production of intricate miniature motifs. The jewellers used gold and silver together with pearls, emeralds, garnets and amethysts. Jewellery was worn mostly for special occasions. It indicated the status and wealth of an individual. It was also believed that jewellery protected the wearer from Evil Eye. Some ornaments had religious symbolism and others endowed the wearer with supernatural powers.

Two styles of pieces have been found; cast pieces and pieces hammered out of sheet metal. Casting pieces were made by casting the metal onto two stone or clay moulds. The two halves were joined together by wax at the centre. The hammered sheet type was more common. Sheets of metal would be hammered to thickness and then soldered together. The inside of the two sheets would be filled with wax or another liquid to preserve the metal work.

Many Greek ornaments are preserved in the British museum and various other museums round the globe.
Information on: Ancient Greece Jewelry

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