The human desire for adornment has very primitive origins which developed into works of incredible complexity and beauty. The finished products were the glory of the cultures of Egypt, the Near East, Greece and Rome. The exotic sources of the precious metals, stones and other materials used in ancient jewellery will be explored as well as manufacturing techniques. We will consider the religious and mythical aspects of gemstones, metals, mines, metallurgy and conclude by looking at the influence of ancient jewellery on great designers such as Boucheron, Cartier and Tiffany.
- Aldred, C., 1971, Jewels of the Pharaohs, London
- Andrews, C. 1994, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, London
- Andrews, C., 1997, Ancient Egyptian Jewellery, London
- Easton, D., Ed., 1996, The Gold of Troy: Searching for Homer’s Fabled City, London
- Friedman, F., 1998, Gifts of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Faience, London
- Hope, C., 1988, Gold of the Pharaohs, Melbourne
- Marazov, I., Ed, 1998, Ancient Gold: Wealth of the Thracians, New York
- Pinckemelle, K., 2008, _The Iconography of Gre_ek and Roman Jewellery, Glasgow
- Pliastsika, V., 2012, Simply Divine: The jewellery, dress, and body adornment of the Mycenaean clay female figures in the light of new evidence from Mycenae, in Aegeum 33: Kosmos: Jewellery, Adornment and Textiles in the Aegean Bronze Age
- Reeder, E.D., 1999, Scythian Gold: Treasures from Ancient Ukraine, New York
- Shepherd, R., 1993, Ancient Mining, London
- Williams, D., and Ogden, J., 1994, Greek Gold: Jewellery of the Classical World, London
- Prehistoric origins and very early jewellery from Europe, Anatolia, Greece, Egypt and Mesopotamia
- Egyptian jewellery from the Middle Kingdom to the Late period
- Minoan and Mycenaean jewellery. Metals - gold, silver, copper. Gems (part 1): Emerald, peridot, malachite, diamond, gifts of the sea
- Gems (part 2): Carnelian, ruby, garnet, sapphire, lapis lazuli, amethyst, rock crystal. Faience. Glass. Etruscan jewellery. Classical and Hellenistic and Roman jewellery. Cameos and intaglios. Neo Classical jewellery.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Discover the locations of several very unusual ancient sites associated with mining and production of materials used by ancient artisans.
- Gain insight into the many and varied ingredients (such as precious metals, gems, faience, pearls, amber), and intriguing methods involved in making ancient jewellery.
- Enjoy a greater appreciation of the diversity and beauty of the many different types of adornment used by ancient people from the Neolithic to the late Roman eras.
- Have an explanation of the symbolism and religious aspects of jewellery – especially amulets, and the deities connected with mining, artisans, and the various materials they used.
- Understand the influence of the ‘’old masters” on the master jewellers of later times.
