Egyptian Jewerly and Makeup

Egyptian Jewelry and Makeup

Everyday in the Egyptian way of life, both men and women would adorn themselves with beautiful jewelry and makeup. Wearing these pieces of jewelry and makeup was part of their everyday life.

Everyone, man or woman, Egypt wore more type of jewelry. What kind of jewelry they wore was usually dependent on how wealthy they were. The rich wore fine jewelry made from gold, silver, or electrum inlaid with precious stones. The less wealthy wore jewelry that was made of copper or faience, which is made by heating powdered quartz.

Ring and amulets were especially worn to ward off evil spirits and/or injury. Cowrie shells were worn to show the desire of the wearer to have children. They also wore jewelry with the god Heh, which means the god of ‘millions of years’, which symbolizes long life. Younger Egyptians wore charms that resembled beards or side locks of hair to symbolize youth and innocence. Perhaps the most interesting fact about jewelry was that many children wore fish amulets to prevent from downing and accidents in the Nile River.

Jewelry was also a reward to people for outstanding services to the community. The jewelry was hanged out by the king. The king would lean out of windows and drops bracelets or collars to the nobles waiting respectfully below.

The gold that was used to make jewelry in Egyptian times was not scarce like it is in present day. Mines between the Nile River and Red Sea coast yielded large quantities of this precious metal. They also imported precious stones from the Sinai Peninsula and even Afghanistan. The Egyptians, however, had no knowledge of the gemstones and jewels we have today, such as diamonds, emeralds, and rubies.

The Egyptians were big lovers of all beauty and fashion. They were such lovers of beauty that some of their names were based on the word ‘nefer’, which means beautiful. Examples of such were Nefert, Nefertiti, and Nefertari. The goddess associated with adornment was “Hathor the Golden”, who is seen as the ideal of beauty in love and poetry of the time.

Both Egyptian men and women wore makeup, such as eye paint. For their eye paint and eye shadow they used a mineral called Kohl. Apart from making their eyes look brighter, and larger, Kohl was once believed to have the value as a protection against eye disease. Its blackness also controls the sun’s glare in the desert.