Mesopotamian Jewelry Case Study

1434 Words3 Pages

Marcella Borgenicht Mr. Majewski
History 7
19 October 2015
Mesopotamian Jewelry
In ancient civilizations, Jewelry had an extensive impact on people’s lives. Specifically, jewelry from the land between the rivers, Mesopotamia, played a significant role in mesopotamian culture. The roles jewelry played in people’s lives are exemplified by all of the effort to incorporate intricate designs and the usage of quality materials. All of the characteristics of their work makes the jewelry created during the mesopotamian time period centerpieces of the ancient society (Dissecting Mesopotamian Jewelry). Jewelry was worn by both men and women and it was so important that Queen Puabi was buried with all of her adornments(. Her gravesite as well as Nimrud’s …show more content…

Jewelry in ancient mesopotamia was used in most aspects of their lives for a variety of different reasons, therefore making it a universal ornament that can be used equally by both men and women.
Jewelry from the Mesopotamian time period contained precious materials intricately crafted into beautiful ornaments to adorn royalty or the rich with, impacting their society as well as a multitiude of today’s culture within our communities.. Pieces found during excavations displayed their skilled craftsmenship in incorperating metal such as copper, gold, and silver into their work(Sumer). Around 4,000 years ago, jewelers in Mesopotamia began to craft jewelry(Ancient Mesopotamia Jewellery, par. 2). The semiprecios stones: Agate, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and jasper were displayed in their work(Ancient Mesopotamia Jewellery, par. 7). Pieces of jewelry not only served as a wealth status but were also given as wedding gifts(Dissecting Mesopotamian Jewelry, pars. 6-9).Citizens of Mesopotamia offered jewelry to gods at temples as well being buried with it in hopes of going to the afterlife(Dissecting Mesopotamian Jewelry, par.13). They also decorated statues of gods with jewelry, as it was a spiritual and magical tool for Mesopotamians(Dissecting …show more content…

Body adornments included but are not limited to intricate crowns, ornate neckpieces, necklaces, pins, bracelets and earrings.Mesopotamians decorated themselves with an immense amount of adornments due to the fact that they simply enjoyed it. Men wore earrings. necklaces, armlets, bracelets, headband and pectoral pieces. WOmen wore simiar ornaments as well as headdresses decorated with floral designs, gold hoop or cresent earrings, chocker nechlaces, belts, pins, and rings(Dissecting Mesopotamian Jewelry, par. 17). When the royal tombs of Ur and then tombs in Nimrud were excavated an nourmus amound of Jewelry was found. The three lavish tombs at Nimrud contained around 1,500 pieces of jewelry. In the royal tombs of Ur, 17 tombs were discovered and excavated finding plenty more jewelry(Dissecting Mesopotamian Jewelry, par. 7). The tombs of Ur had been overlooked by the Scythians and Medes, who raided and stole possesions of the nimrud palace.while they missed the tombs in 612 BC, later on Sir Austen Henry Layard in 1848 rediscovered them but didn’t disterb the pieces. Finally, in 1988 and archiologist named Muzahim mahmud observed some tile flooring that appeared to have been dug up, but repositioned. Nimruds gold was on display for a short period of time due to Saddam Hussein’s innvasion of Kuwait in the year, 1990. The jewelry was then hidden in the basebent of the central bank to prevent the pieces from being

Open Document