Jewellery: Difference between revisions

[[File: Horloge, zgn. ‘boule de Genève’, met Zwitserse ankergang, objectnrobjector KA 3620.jpg|thumb|right|A gold, [[diamonds]] and [[sapphires]] red [[guilloché]] enamel "[[Boule de Genève]]", a type of pendant [[watch]] used as an accessory for women. An example of an object whichthat is functional, artistic/decorative, a marker of social status, or a symbol of personal meaning.]]

Humans have used jewelleryjewelry for a number ofseveral different reasons:

* as a signifier of some form of affiliation, whether ethnic, religious, or social

* to provide talismanic protection (in the form of [[amulet]]s)<ref name = KunzMagicJewels>{{cite book | last = Kunz | first = George Frederick | title = Magic of Jewels and Charms | publisher = John Lippincott Co.| year = 1917}} URL: [http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz-magic-jewels/page_360 Magic Of jewels: Chapter VII Amulets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213125551/http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/kunz-magic-jewels/page_360 |date=2013-12-13 }} [[George Frederick Kunz]], a gemmologist for Tiffany's, built the collections of banker J.P. Morgan and of the American Natural History Museum in New York City. This chapter deals entirely with using jewels and gemstones in jewelleryjewelry for talismanic purposes in Western cultures.</ref>

* as a carrier or symbol of personal meaning – such as love, mourning, a personal milestone, or even luck

| quote = magical jewelry [...] articles of jewelry worn for their magical belief, medicinal powers, or superstitionssuperstition reasons.

Most{{quantify|date=April 2020}} cultures at some point have had a practice of keeping large amounts of wealth stored in the form of jewelleryjewelry. Numerous cultures store wedding [[dowry|dowries]] in the form of jewelleryjewelry or make jewellery as a meansjewelry to store or display coins. Alternatively, jewelleryjewelry hascan beenbe used as a currency or as a trade good to buy and sell.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/money_01.shtml|title= BBC – History – Ancient History in depth: Viking Money|access-date= 2017-11-10|archive-date= 2014-02-10|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140210111850/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/money_01.shtml|url-status= live}}</ref> an example being the use of [[slave beads]].<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/trade-beads/|title= Trade Beads|last= Web Team|first= Victoria and Albert Museum, Online Museum|date= 2011-01-13|website= www.vam.ac.uk|language= en|access-date= 2017-11-10|archive-date= 2022-01-08|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220108021106/http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/t/trade-beads/|url-status= live}}</ref>

Many items of jewelleryjewelry, such as [[brooch]]es and [[buckle]]s, originated as purely functional items, but evolved into decorative items as their functional requirement diminished.<ref name="kingfisherhistory">Holland, J. 1999. The Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. ''Kingfisher books''.</ref>

Jewellery can symbolisesymbolize group membership (as in the case, of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[crucifix]] or the [[Judaism|Jewish]] [[Star of David]]) or status (as in the case of [[Livery collar|chains of office]], or the Western practice of [[marriage|married]] people wearing wedding rings).

Wearing of [[amulet]]s and [[devotional medal]]s to provide protection or to ward off evil is common in some cultures. These may take the form of symbols (such as the [[ankh]]), stones, plants, animals, body parts (such as the [[Hamsa|Khamsa]]), or [[glyph]]s (such as stylisedstylized versions of the [[Throne Verse]] in [[Islamic art]]).<ref>