Sunday, April 29, 2007
Jewelry
Jewelry
| I | | INTRODUCTION |
Jewelry, ornaments of precious metal, sometimes set with gems, worn since ancient times by people of all cultures for personal adornment, as badges of social or official rank, and as emblems of religious, social, or political affiliation. In its widest sense the term jewelry encompasses objects made of many kinds of organic and inorganic materials such as hair, feathers, leather, scales, bones, shells, wood, ceramics, metals, and minerals. However, the term properly refers to mounted precious or semiprecious stones and to objects made of valuable or attractive metals such as gold, silver, platinum, copper, and brass. Jewelry has been worn on the head in the form of crowns, diadems, tiaras, aigrettes, hairpins, hat ornaments, earrings, nose rings, earplugs, and lip rings; on the neck in the form of collars, necklaces, and pendants; on the breast in the form of pectorals, brooches, clasps, and buttons; on the limbs in the form of rings, bracelets, armlets, and anklets; and at the waist in the form of belts and girdles, with pendants such as chatelaines, scent cases, and rosaries. Current knowledge of ancient jewelry is derived largely from the preservation of personal objects in tombs. Information about the jewelry of cultures that did not bury valuables with the dead comes from portraits in surviving painting and sculpture. See Diamond; Gemstones.
| II | | 20TH-CENTURY JEWELRY |
About 1900 in
Modern jewelry reflects important changes in fashions and technology. After World War I (1914-1918), the vogue for short hair for women resulted in the disappearance of formerly popular jeweled combs and hair ornaments. In the same period jeweled vanity cases, wristwatches, and cigarette cases came into style. Strong, lightweight metals such as platinum, iridium, and palladium permitted unconventional settings for gemstones, and new casting methods resulted in more sculptural designs and a greater use of different metallic textures and finishes. As in the Renaissance, painters and sculptors again designed jewels. The works of French painter Georges Braque and American sculptor Alexander Calder combine appropriateness with wearability. The jewels of Spanish painter Salvador Dalí were more extravagant and were more representative of design for its own sake than as a function of the jewel to be worn. Although a great deal of modern jewelry is designed and made by large firms, the tradition of the artist-craftsman is strong in
| III | | ASIAN JEWELRY |
In
Illuminated manuscripts indicate that in
Silver was used in Chinese traditional jewelry more often than gold and was gilded to prevent tarnishing. Silver and gold were frequently enameled in blue, a favorite color, and often decorated with blue kingfisher feathers. Jade was the most valued among precious stones. Under the Chinese Empire, jeweled emblems such as the buttons on the hats of mandarins indicated rank, and extremely elaborate silver and gold filigree headdresses were worn by women of high position. Dragons, phoenixes, and many Buddhist symbols were used as decoration or charms on necklaces, rings, and bracelets. Outstanding examples of Chinese jewelry are exhibited at the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. The gold and silver jewelry of
