Vintage Costume Jewellery History part 1 , ancient and medieval

Part one of AntiquesAvenue’s guide to the history of vintage costume jewellery looks at what was worn in the ancient world right up through the middle ages until the beginnings of the industrial revolution when more sophisticated jewellery gradually became available due to improving production capabilities. Very little of this jewellery remains to be bought today which is still wearable, any which can be found is best kept as a collectable and if we wish find quality reproduction pieces to wear.

Before the 1920s there was no such term as “Costume Jewellery” but there was plenty of jewellery made from materials which nowadays we would call costume , that is non precious materials.

Truly prehistoric cultures are thought to have worn Jewellery and amulets made of natural materials such as leather, shell and feathers. Think of the reproduction items made by American Indians and the African and South Sea Tribal cultures today.

The ancient Egyptians before them the Sumerians  and later on the Phoenicians developed a style of costume jewellery which has been imitated and reproduced many times through thee ages. We see some lovely ceramic beads in shades of turquoise and blue which have survived in the ancient Egyptian tombs . The Egyptians made glass beads and they used pearls which were found in the river Nile. These were used in designs including hieroglyphics and scarabs. The brooch shown below is a 1920s copy which looks something like a piece of costume Jewellery from ancient Egypt

Egyptian style brooch

 The classical cultures of ancient Greece and Rome loved precious jewellery made of gold but they also made costume jewellery from glass mosaics. There is an abundance of ancient Greek and Roman Jewellery to see in our museums today – you can certainly see early cameos and intaglios carved with classical gods much like the shell cameos of today but of course shell has long disintegrated and we just see genuine ancient examples in glass . The ancient Romans and Greeks both used semi precious gemstones with the amethyst being popular as it was believed to ward off drunkenness.

The medieval era and the Renaissance also wore Jewellery of non precious materials – bronze was used and semi precious stones were worn most often in cabochon shape which was easy to polish. Motifs changed with Christian and celtic religious emblems replacing the ancient gods. Jewellery not often seen today such as Girdles, Cloak clasps and circlets went with the clothing of the day and were worn by both men and women. Pearls especially large baroque ones were highly regarded. There is very little original medieval jewellery surviving you will have to visit a museum to see any nowadays .

In the next part of my look at the history of costume jewellery I take a look at Vintage Jewellery which can still be found today from the Georgian and Victorian times.