Ancient Egyptian jewelry; much more than just an ornament - the jewelry and amulets worn by both men and women, in addition to being beautiful adornments, protected them in earthly life and, more importantly, in the afterlife ...Jewelry played a fundamental role in daily life and funeral customs of the inhabitants of the country of the Nile. The pharaohs and their relatives, the clergy, the nobles and all those who could afford it adorned their bodies with jewels , which were only available to a minority and were therefore a symbol of their high social status. In a text from late Old Kingdom, The Lamentations of the Wise Ipuwer , a major crisis in Egyptian history is recalled, in which "beaded necklaces adorn the necks of slave girls, while noble ladies wander about lamenting that they have nothing to put in their mouths"; a sign that, under normal circumstances, only the most favoured classes could wear these expensive ornaments. But jewellery in ancient Egypt also had magical and religious power as protective amulets, effective both in life and in the afterlife.
Egyptians created all kinds of jewellery, with which they adorned themselves from head to toe: bracelets, bangles, rings, necklaces, breastplates, belts, amulets, anklets, crowns, tiaras and earrings. Archaeology has shown that jewellery was used without distinction by men and women. Both men and women valued precious metals equally, especially gold and precious and semi-precious stones, so the Egyptians dressed and adorned themselves with a multitude of jewellery both in everyday life and on special occasions.
Many pieces were made of silver, electrum (an alloy of gold and silver), copper and bronze, often supplemented with precious or semi-precious stones such as quartz, turquoise, lapis lazuli, carnelian, gems, alabaster and amethyst, and with coloured glass. But the vast majority were made of pure gold. This was the metal most prized by the Egyptians, who attributed divine connotations to it; one inscription read: "Gold is the flesh of the gods [...]. Remember what were the words of Re when he began to speak: 'My skin is pure gold'."
Gold was mined mainly in deserts of Nubia – nb or "land of gold" – while silver was imported from Near East and, from 7th Century BC, from Iberian Peninsula via the Phoenicians . Copper was mined in the Sinai, and tin , which was mixed with copper to produce bronze, was obtained from Near East, Cassiterides Islands (British Isles) or Iberian Peninsula. Representations have been found on the walls of mastabas showing the delivery of metals to the pharaohs as a result of mining, trade, tributes and the spoils of military campaigns.
The importation of precious metals allowed the development of important jewellery workshops in Egyptian cities, particularly in Memphis, Coptos, Thebes and Alexandria. These workshops were supported by the State, which introduced a long list of positions and specialists related to metalworking: workshop heads, heads of craftsmen, heads of goldsmiths, chisellers, engravers and blowers, among others. Although they never signed their works, the goldsmiths enjoyed great prestige.
Thanks to the reliefs in some of the tombs, we can see how their work was carried out and the type of tools they used: from burins, chisels and hammers to blow pipes, bellows, ovens and moulds. Jewellers developed increasingly sophisticated goldsmithing techniques , from openwork and chiselling to embossing and, above all, engraving.
: Pectoral from the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings. It depicts the pharaoh between god Ptah and lioness goddess Sekhmet. (Egyptian Museum, Cairo)
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