Ancient Egyptian Jewelry

The first evidence of ancient Egyptian jewelry dates back nearly 5,000 years. Egyptians crafted jewelry from gold, silver, gemstones and colored glass. Gold was their preferred metal. They also preferred glass instead of gemstones because of the variety of colors they could create.

Ancient Egyptians wore jewelry as a symbol of status, but also for protection from evil. Each piece held religious significance.

The scarab, a common symbol in Ancient Egypt represents rebirth. It originates from the scarab beetle, known for its habit of rolling dung into a ball and depositing eggs inside. The larvae then feed on the dung until they mature and emerge as if created spontaneously. Crafted with wings, they often placed the scarab on the pharaoh’s chest in his tomb to carry his spirit safely to the afterlife.

A hieroglyph meaning life, the ankh looks like a cross with a large loop at the top. It is the symbol of the gods. Found commonly inscribed in Egyptian tombs, Pharaohs and gods were often depicted holding it.

Recognized in popular culture as the “cross of life," the ankh appeared in movies, video games, on television shows and is a common element in body art. The ankh is also a symbol of paganism.

The cartouche is an oval-shaped amulet usually inscribed with the king’s name in hieroglyphs with a horizontal line underneath. Egyptians believed that a person’s name must be inscribed somewhere to prevent him from being forgotten. Cartouches were attached to the king’s tomb upon his death. However, after a while they stopped the practice for fear that tomb robbers would steal the cartouche and gain control of the king’s spirit.

Napoleon’s army assigned the name cartouche, a French word meaning gun cartridge, in the late 18th century.

You can personalize a cartouche inscribed with your own name at Sky Gift Worldwide.com.

The seed of life is a religious symbol of the seven days of creation. It is an octahedron created by a circle intersected by six additional circles.

The flower of life is the continuation of the seed of life. Beliefs state that God repeated the creation process to form a sphere and by doing so created light. The flower of life is a geometric figure formed by overlapping multiple circles to form a sphere. Each circle intersects its center by six surrounding circles. The oldest known flower of life dates back to 400AD.

The lotus, more commonly known as the water lily, held deep spiritual significance to Egyptians. They believed that darkness covered the earth until the water lily rose and bloomed. When the lily opened its bud, it revealed the Sun god, creator of life. Each night, as the lily closed its petals, chaos reigned. In the morning, when the lily opened, all was well again. Many Egyptian temple columns are crowned with water lilies.

Isis was an Egyptian goddess. She was the wife and sister of the great god Osiris. According to legend, Isis was betrothed to her brother Set. In a fit of jealousy, Set killed Osiris. Later, Set stole his brother’s body and hacked it into pieces, scattering it to the winds. Isis, with the help of her sister, collected the pieces and reconstructed her husband’s body all except his phallus. She created a new one and attached it to his body. She then created wings and whirled herself around until she filled Osiris’ body with life. When she was successful, she and Osiris conceived a son, Horus.

Known as wadjet in Egyptian, the eye of Horus is an ancient symbol of protection and power from the gods. It represents the left eye of Horus, the falcon sky god and son of Isis.

The Egyptians used the eye of Horus to figure fractions. Divided into six sections: 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16, 1/32, and 1/64, the six sections also represented six senses. At that time, "thought" was considered a sense.

Tutankhamun is one of the most famous Egyptian pharaohs. He is the only one to have a nickname in popular culture: King Tut. Starting at the age of eight, he ruled Egypt from 1333 BC to 1322 BC. He was killed when he was 17. King Tut is famous in modern times because his tomb, found in the Valley of Kings was almost undisturbed and is still the most complete tomb ever found.

Each piece of jewelry held great religious significance to the Ancient Egyptians. It was often buried with them to protect them in the afterlife. While ancient Egyptian jewelry doesn't hold the spiritual significance it did for the ancients, it is still highly valued for its craftsmanship and timeless design.

• Ka-Gold-Jewelry.com
• Bazaar in Egypt.com
• Nilestone.com

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