Amber

Amber

by | Reviews

From Antiquity to Eternity

Amber

I love books that deepen our understanding of one particular material, and so when I met dr. Rachel King briefly early in 2022 and she told me she was finishing a book on amber, I was excited! And rightly so: Amber. From Antiquity to Eternity is a most engaging and important discussion of all things amber.

 

Amber

What stands out from the first lines is how very well this book is written. It is accessible, relatable, easy to follow, but by no means simple. The volume explores the world of amber in great detail and with obvious knowledge. Given the amount of information and the complexity of the topics presented, clarity of writing is of great importance: you will enjoy the lucid and engaging style of Dr. King!

Amber discusses amber from a great many angles. In eight chapters, the past, present and future of this material that has enticed humans for millennia are presented. The first of these deals with definitions: what is amber, where is it found, what different types exist? In this chapter, the wide reach of this book becomes apparent. Themes like ecosystems, the science behind investigating amber and research angles yet to be pursued all are discussed. The next chapter picks up on this theme of research in presenting what earlier scholars believed amber to be. This results in a delightful overview of legends and myths, some of which may reflect actual archaeological finds – and with that, the next chapter on the use of amber artefacts by humans begins.

This focuses mainly on Europe and China, and contains a great overview of amber finds from prehistory and the early Middle Ages. The following chapter picks up the narrative in later periods and highlights the amber trade in all its aspects. How and where to find amber is followed up upon by the economic, political and social aspects of the amber industry. An excursion to the Dominican Republic shows the harsh reality of amber mining, and as such makes us reflect on not just past monopolies on the mining and selling of amber, but also of the present and future of the amber industry. The amber industry is fraught with illegal and unsafe extraction and trade: just one example is how in 2015, 90% of the amber from Ukraine has been extracted without permission (p. 94). This book certainly gets you thinking on the darker sides of those pretty amber jewellery items that are offered for sale far and wide.

It will come as no surprise that this material, that has played such an important part in trade networks and political power plays, has been imitated as well. I am obviously aware that amber is widely faked, but I did not know how far back this went – did you know a recipe to imitate amber existed in China some 1,800 years ago, and that imitations of amber have been found in Spain that date back 4,000 years? And there is so much more involved in imitations: from smell to inclusions, from weight to colour – and increasingly innovative and scientific ways to expose forgeries.

The chapter on jewellery is a varied introduction in the many forms amber is worn as adornment. That is not just as personal adornment, but also as precious objects to show wealth and status, such as handles, mouthpieces or inlays. In this chapter the colonial use of amber as commodity is addressed, and its fragrant capacities and its meaning in ritual are touched upon as well. This is a dazzling and kaleidoscopic portrait of the use of amber, which is continued in the next chapter on artworks in amber. The final chapters deals with lost amber in again a variety of angles: not just actual lost pieces, but also the loss of status and knowledge. In this chapter, the role of private and public collections in preserving amber surfaces. As many pieces with spectacular inclusions find their way into private collections, scientists may not always have access to study these (p. 217) – and studying amber and its eternal world within from a scientific perspective is relevant for not just our past, but our future as well. (so if you do have a collection: please give some thought on how to pass your collection on to the future)

The focus of this beautifully illustrated book is mainly on Europe and Asia. The use and meaning of amber in other parts of the world are only touched upon in a few instances, but that does not diminish the relevance of this book. What makes Amber so important is its wide scope. It places amber not just in an art historian or historical context, but also in a social, environmental and humanitarian context. Throughout the book, attention is called to the ethical and sustainability challenges with amber, the knowledge that can be gained from it about our climate and planet, and the inevitable choices that present themselves. The attractive way in which the author presents an accessible overview of the history and uses of amber as well as serious food for thought in one fluid narrative is rare, and I enjoyed every page of this book. Possibly the most powerful line I read is the last one, in which past and future of our planet meet: I highly recommend reading this book, as it will not only tell you everything you would want to know about amber itself, but also eminently shows the importance of our choices in studying and treating it for humanity – which stretches so far as our very survival.

Amber. From Antiquity to Eternity, by Rachel King, 2022.

272 pp., full-colour, in English. Published by Reaktion Books

Available online and with the publisher.

I purchased the book in the British Museum.

More on amber in jewellery is in this article. If books like these are of interest to you, join the Jewellery List and have reviews of new books sent to you!

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

Tenues des Touaregs

Tenues des Touaregs

by | Reviews

half a century of archive

De la féérie des sables/Tenues des Touaregs

Updated June 25, 2025

Like private collections, private archives are of great importance. It is through these that we may understand the context of collected things, but all too often, personal archives end up forgotten. That is why the two books about Tuareg dress and personal appearance by Dr. Catherine Vaudour are such treasures: they are dedicated to sharing half a century of research and documentation.

 

The Tuareg inhabit a vast region: from Algeria, Tunisia and Libya in the north to Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger in the south. Within this enormous region, many regional varieties in dress and personal appearance exist. Michel Vallet has documented Tuareg dress and adornment for half a century, between 1957 and 2007. During this timeframe, he carried out numerous visits to all corners of the Tuareg realm and documented his experiences in great detail: in photographs, but also superb drawings and gouaches, notes, maps and sketches.

Michel Vallet passed away in 2018, but wanted his work to be published. Dr. Catherine Vaudour, an ethnolinguist researching the Kel-Ajjer in Algeria, has taken it upon herself to make his work available to a larger audience. She is the founder of the Association Tatrit [1], aimed at preserving the material and immaterial heritage of the Tuareg. One of the many things she has initiated to this end is curating an exposition of a part of Michel Vallet’s work in Nantes (2015-2016), which allowed visitors to explore the world of the Tuareg through its material culture and the meticulous notes and drawings of Michel Vallet.

With this exhibition, a book was published: De la féérie des sables…cinquante ans chez les Touaregs – Fonds Michel Vallet. This beautiful book presents the full texts of the exhibition as well as many drawings and photographs. Starting out with a chapter on the linguistic variety in the Tamasheq language family, the reader is introduced to the way of living of the Tuareg: tents, herding, trading. A fold-out map with the various peoples belonging to the Kel-Tamasheq, ‘the people who speak Tamasheq’ is particularly illustrative as it shows the wide variety of the Tuareg world, which is often represented as a monolithic entity. After this introduction, the book continues with a treasure of detailed information on number of aspects of personal appearance: arms, veils, hairstyles, dress, personal care, and of course jewellery. That is not all: camel-riding and gear, music and poetry follow. And ‘detailed’ really does mean detailed: beautiful drawings of hairstyles, how to wrap a veil, forms of shields, shoes, schematics on how to mount and dismount a camel are presented alongside photographs that bring the Tuareg world to life in all its elegance and splendour.

The volume Les Tenues des Touaregs – Fonds documentaire de Michel Vallet, which followed in 2019, is an extraordinary work which presents the documentary archive left by Michel Vallet in more detail. It focuses on outfits and presents both male and female dress, once again in great detail. The diversity of jewellery shown itself is enormous and I enjoyed seeing how here, too, lines between peoples are blurred: ornaments often only labeled as ‘Tuareg’ are also worn by the Fulani and Ayneha, jewellery pieces such as the hawafir-necklaces and shariyyah-necklaces are worn by the Tuareg as well. Apart from jewellery, there is a wide variety of dress, headgear and other items of personal appearance. And finally, this volume also presents body aesthetic like temporary facial tattoos, even more hairstyles, schematics of dress, shoes and pieces of jewellery. Throughout the book, we see how dress and adornment evolve over time: there is no such thing as ‘static’ dress and this book testifies to change and exchange in great detail.

Both books include an overview of Michel Vallet’s life and a short bibliography. These bibliographies shed an interesting light on the Vallet archive as well. Judging from both bibliographies, only very few other studies have been used in compiling these two publications. You will not find the work of other scholars such as Dr. Anja Fischer, Dr. Thomas K. Seligman or Bert Flint here, for example, or even a single reference in another language than French. That means that the Michel Vallet archive retains its value as its own original source: the names of things, the customs, the ways of dressing and adorning are all as he observed them and noted them down. Both books have been published with great care and a scholarly eye for detail, but without secondary interpretations or placement in the current state of research in this field. This makes for an excellent starting point for comparison between this and other works in the field of Tuareg research: both books present an absolutely unique point of view. This is an original archive that has all the potential to further studies into Tuareg culture – and it is published and available.

It is only too sad that Mr. Vallet has not seen this publication of his life’s work. We should be indebted to dr. Vaudour for her tireless and knowledgeable efforts in achieving these publications, because like I said at the beginning: archives like these are easily forgotten, while they hold an immense amount of information of a world that is changing fast. The onerous task of inventorying, selecting and finally publishing is not an easy one, but I do hope these two books show how personal archives may be shared with researchers worldwide.

These are books that are of great importance, and I would even say they are indispensable for anyone interested in Tuareg dress and adornment. The drawings are breathtaking and plentiful, the photographs are a perfect complement in showing the objects of dress and adornment worn, the maps are illuminating and helpful, and the many sketches of construction details of for example leather bags will have you peer over them for hours. My recommendation would be to purchase both books, as they complement and build on one another. If you do not read French, don’t let that stop you: the books both contain about 95% images and these alone themselves are worth having on your shelf as a resource. Both are squarely in the category of ‘must-have’ reference books!

Les Tenues des Touaregs. Fonds documentaire de Michel Vallet. By Catherine Vaudour, 2019.

Full colour, 311 pages, in French. Published by Association Tatrit (48 euros)

 De la féérie des sables…cinquante ans chez les Touaregs – Fonds Michel Vallet. By Catherine Vaudour, 2016.

Full colour, 113 pages, in French. Published by Association Tatrit (30 euros)

Both books can be ordered with the Association Tatrit via email: association.tatrit@gmail.com

I purchased both books with the author.

More rare books on personal adornment and cultural history? See my picks for you here, or join the Jewellery List to receive new reviews as they come out!

—

References

[1] The Association Tatrit does not have a website yet, but one is in the works. Once it is live, I will add the direct link. In the meantime, learn more about their work here (opens a pdf-file)

The Bedouin Silver blog gives credit where credit is due! Transparent referencing and citing sources helps us all grow. Would you like to do the same and quote this article? Here’s how:

S. van Roode, [write the title as you see it above this post], published on the Bedouin Silver website [paste the exact link to this article], accessed on [the date you are reading this article and decided it was useful for you].

The Bedouin Silver Jewellery Blog: Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. Her main field of expertise is jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, as well as archaeological and archaeological revival jewellery. She has authored several books on jewellery, and obtained her PhD at Leiden University on jewellery, informal ritual and collections. Sigrid has lectured for the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Turquoise Mountain Jordan, and many others. She provides consultancy and research on jewellery collections for both museums and private collections, teaches courses and curates exhibitions. She is not involved in the business of buying and selling jewellery, and focuses on research, knowledge production, and education only. Sigrid strongly believes in accessibility of knowledge, and aims to provide reliable and trustworthy content: that’s why the Bedouin Silver blog provides references and citations.

Engraved Gems

Engraved Gems

by | Ancient jewellery, European jewellery, Reviews

the guy ladriere collection

Engraved Gems

One of the most elusive forms of adornment from Antiquity are engraved gems. They existed in large numbers and many have survived to this day, but as these were eminently portable objects, they often lack context. Stones were taken out of rings and pendants to be fashioned into another jewel, and endless cycle that continues until today. By studying engraved gems carefully however, there is a lot to be learned about the world they come from. L’École, School of Jewelry Arts, exhibited a large private collection in 2022, accompanied by the book Engraved Gems. Cameos, Intaglios and Rings from the Guy Ladrière Collection.

 

Engraved Gems

Roman ring with inscription, cat. no. 306

This large and beautifully designed book starts out with an interview with the collector himself. The choices and preferences of the collector are a most important element of any collection, as they are imperative to our understanding what the collection represents. Where the major and important collection of cameos by Derek Content for example was built specifically to be representative and show the full range of quality found across the Empire [1], in the interview with Guy Ladrière we learn that his choices were based on beauty and personal preferences. That results in a different selection, and I enjoyed the passion shining through in the interview: many collectors will relate to his anecdotes of having, holding, missing out on, and wearing.

The first chapter takes us along in the world of words: what exactly is the difference between cameo and intaglio again, how were they created and from which stones? The treaty on terminology used for a variety of gemstones is particularly useful as it presents an overview of the convoluted history of these terms, and clearly states which terms will be used throughout the book. Now as terminology is notoriously complicated, I’m sure gemmology experts will have their own opinion of these choices, but specifying what is meant by ‘agate’, ‘carnelian’ etc. in the present volume does provide clarity for the understanding of the contents.

One thing that struck me as odd in this chapter is the statement, regarding garnets, that the trade routes to the East disappeared in the early Middle Ages, and so garnets were collected from Bohemia and Portugal. (p. 31). Research has shown that these trade routes did not disappear completely. Garnets in early medieval jewellery from various locations across The Netherlands have been examined in 2011. The results were fascinating: most of the garnets in these jewellery pieces came from India and Pakistan, and a single piece of jewellery could even contain garnets from several geographic locations. [2] It would be certainly interesting to examine why Portuguese and Bohemian garnets were preferred for engraved gems in this period!

Next, we dive into the collection itself. This is presented largely chronologically. Themes recur in several chapters, and where necessary, younger gems are discussed in the same chapter as older ones when it serves the theme at hand. The chapter ‘From the Phoenicians to the Sassanids: a brief history of glyptic art’ does not actually provide a brief history of glyptic art, because the earliest forms of seals like those from Mesopotamia and Egypt are not represented in the collection. What you will find here is an essay on how pre-Classical forms found their way into later pieces, such as the Egyptian scarab. This Classical-centered point of view is also present in the description of Sassanid glyptic art, of which is stated that they ‘…raised it to levels sometimes equal to the most beautiful Greek engravings’. (p. 46) Sassanid seals do obviously reflect the Hellenistic history of the region under Alexander the Great and his successors, but also draw upon older regional forms. [3] This approach tells us a little more about the collection itself: it has been compiled with loving eye for beauty, and notably Classical beauty.

Before continuing into the Classical world, the choices made by engravers in using the properties of stones, such as material and colour, are explored. Here, we see several examples of cameos created by employing the natural properties of a stone to their fullest advantage. The diachronic composition of the collection provides splendid examples of cameos from multiple timeframes, and it is interesting to see how new forms of playing with colour and structure continue to emerge through time. Intaglios as well have on occasion been selected for their colour, notably when it comes to magical gems: the present chapter mainly deals with cameos, and a later chapter in the book presents protective gems.

Graeco-Roman Egypt is represented with several beautiful cameos, of which a sardonyx piece with three superimposed portraits of Ptolemaic rulers is a remarkable piece. The discussion in this chapter highlights the pluriform culture of Graeco-Roman Egypt, where Egyptian, Greek and Roman gods merged into new deities and foreign rulers identified themselves with Egyptian gods and goddesses. Roman emperors, Alexander the Great and Medusa are presented in the next chapters in both antique and more modern gems. As classical Antiquity continued to fascinate in later centuries, these portraits were popular in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries as well. A noteworthy chapter is that on replicas, pastiches and copies: here, we learn about the blurred lines between original and reproduction. The detective work involved in tracing the original or model for a later reproduction reveals a little of the larger world behind these miniature masterpieces. Original pieces from Antiquity, but also paintings and prints served as blueprint for carved gems.

Apart from individual carved stones, the collection also holds many rings. We see a selection of these in the chapter in icons, rings and seals in the Byzantine Empire, as well as in the chapter on two thousand years of rings. Both show absolutely stunning examples of rings, which are discussed in depth in the accompanying texts. The ring theme continues with a chapter on protective gems, which were often worn set in a ring, and a chapter on the very personal nature of engraved gems. Notably rings were gifted as personal jewellery, and may contain inscriptions that wished the wearer well or spoke of love. An example in the collection is catalogue nr. 306, a Roman ring, which carries a cameo inscription (see image included above). Of this, the author writes that it is ‘not very legible here, but speaks of sweetness (dulcis, suavis)’ (p. 170). I would propose the reading ‘dulcis vita’ – a sweet life. The thing with these particular texts is that the composition pays more attention to the even display of individual letters than to how we would separate words. Add to that that the execution of the letters themselves is crude, and they do indeed become difficult to read. Here, the division of letters over the gem is 2 sets of 2 letters on each long side, and 1 letter on both short ends. The spelling, starting from the upper right corner and reading counterclockwise, would thus seem to be DU-LC-I-SV-IT-A, wishing the wearer a sweet life. [4]

The journey through time continues with gems from the Renaissance, the 17th century and Neoclassicism. Individual artists, the significance and meaning of forms and the echoes of Antiquity are all discussed and placed into context.

Each chapter in this book is well referenced and as such provides an excellent starting point for further research. The references contain not only relevant literature, but also parallels: an absolute necessity and an invitation to explore further. In that respect, I was however surprised to see the collection mentioned above, of the Content cameos, missing from the bibliography. The photography is beautiful, and I really appreciated how much space is allocated for images: rings are shown from several angles and cameos from different perspectives so as to take in as many details as possible. The structure and organization of this volume are also wonderfully clear: each image in the main chapters refers to a catalogue entry. The full collection is included in the last section of the book, where details of each piece are provided, referring back to the discussion in the main text.

This is a beautiful book that illustrates the long history of engraved gems from the Classical period and their reception, imitation and emulation in later times. It contains a massive amount of information that is well written and easy to digest: I have learned quite a few things while reading this book. As substantial private collections of engraved gems are rare, this book is a valuable addition to the shelf of any researcher and a beautiful introduction into the world of gems from past to present for the interested reader.

Engraved Gems. Cameos, Intaglios and Rings from the Guy Ladrière Collection. By Philippe Malgoures, Mare & Martin/L’Ecole, School of Jewelry Arts 2022.

304 pages, full-colour, in English. Available through the publisher

The book was received as review copy by the publisher.

More books on historical jewellery? See my picks for you here, or join the Jewellery List to have book alerts sent you as they appear! And the e-course on History of Jewellery brings you 5,000 years of stunning jewellery: surround yourself with gems from Antiquity here!

References

[1] Henig, M. and H. Molesworth 2018. The Complete Content Cameos, Brepols, Brussels, p. 7

[2] Willemsen, A. 2014. Gouden Middeleeuwen. Nederland in de Merovingische wereld, ca 400 – 700 na Chr. Walburg Pers, Zutphen, p. 150-151

[3] Gyselen, R. 1997. L’Art Sigillaire Sassanide dans les collections de Leyde, National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, p. xviii, or see Gyselen, R. 2017. Sasanian seals: owners and reusers, in: Bercken, B.J.L. van den and V.C.P. Baan (eds), 2017. Engraved Gems. From Antiquity to the Present, Sidestone Press, Leiden pp. 85-92 for an iconographic discussion of their owners’ identification

[4] See a comparable crudely executed gem from Nijmegen, with a similar pattern of 1-2-2-1-2-2 letters that reads SI VIS VIVAM presented in Van Roode, S. 2019. Geheimen uit Gelderse Bodem. 10.000 jaar archeologische sieraden. Blikveld Uitgevers, Zandvoort, p. 50-51

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

Head Adornment

Head Adornment

by | European jewellery, Reviews

traditional costume and identity

Head Adornment

One of the aspects of personal appearance that always stands out is what we wear on our head. Headdresses have a practical as well as a communicative and spiritual side. They protect our hair and face from the elements, but also serve to elongate our person, impress onlookers and communicate status. They are agents of transformation, and they are important all over the globe. The National Museum in Vaduz, Liechtenstein, devoted an exhibition to headdresses, curated by Irene Steiner, who also put together the accompanying catalogue Head adornment, traditional costume, and identity.

The focus of this volume is on headdress from Europe: over three quarters of the 200-page publication explores a variety of regional European head adornment. Two chapters (9 and 13), form the main matter of the book. Chapter 9 presents brief explorations highlighting the many angles of costume and dress study. From lived experiences to repurposing and revaluating traditional dress, gravestones as historic source and traditional dress on Halloween, this chapter is a collection of thoughts and observations that may further the study of dress. Chapter 13 presents a selection of regional headdress variations, each with a brief description. Surrounding these main chapters are short essays on particular headdresses like the stunning Radhaube and Reginahaube, hats, bonnets, head scarves and much more. The photographs of these headdresses worn are just stunning, as they are combined with the dress they would go with: an absolutely splendid and colourful view!

An interesting intermezzo is the photographic essay by Frank Rossbach. Here, headdress elements are worn and styled without regard for their historical ‘correctness’, and more as fashion statement. The accompanying text raises important topics like exotification and romanticizing traditional dress, along with problematic issues such as nationalization and commodification of dress and adornment. These topics are not explored, only mentioned, but their inclusion in a publication about traditional dress hopefully raises awareness that dress study is about so much more than just fabric and models.

The final two chapters provide a reflection on headdress from non-Western countries. Hair adornment from four continents is presented, followed by a selection of head ornaments (worn often over, on or in the headdress proper) from Africa and Asia. Where the previous chapters are accompanied by in-depth texts, these two chapters are for the most part visual and have an introductory paragraph that can only remain general in nature due to space constraints. The importance of hair jewellery for example, associated with the cultural significance of hair and hair styles, is not touched upon – but as the author wrote in the introduction, there is no single book that can encompass any and all head and hair jewellery.

Given the often personal and/or religious importance of head ornaments, there are a few instances in the book where I did wonder whether depicting them worn out of context is the best approach. Of course, the aim of the book is to educate and honour the cultures these head adornments come from. But in the case of for example the Oromo headdress (p. 172), the ornament carries a much a deeper significance. It is considered to be a living object, a sacral emblem. [1] In a case like this, however illustrative wearing it may be, presenting it as stand-alone object might be the more sensitive choice.

This publication offers a huge number of images, making it a valuable visual reference. The texts with each chapter vary in length and depth of discussion, but raise important points in the study of dress and adornment. Notably the need for research in private collections is addressed time and again throughout the book, a need I can only confirm from my own work with private collections. Each and every chapter in this book could easily be the central topic of book on its own, given time and resources, and I sincerely hope the opportunity to create them will arise in the near future. In the meantime, I’m sure you will enjoy this visual reference feast!

Head adornment, Traditional Costume and Identity. Europe, Asia, Africa, by Irene Steiner, 2022

201 pages, full-colour, bilingual German/English. Available with the author.

The book was gifted by the author.

More books on traditional dress and jewellery? Explore the selection here, or join the Jewellery List to receive new book alerts in your inbox!

References

[1] Megerssa, G. & A. Kassam 2019. Sacred Knowledge Traditions of the Oromo of the Horn of Africa, Fifth World Publications, Durham/Finfinnee, p. 243-244

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

Splendour and Shine III

Splendour and Shine III

by | European jewellery, Reviews

african dress and adornment

Splendour and Shine III

Jewellery and dress are not static. They change over time, sometimes only marginally, sometimes profoundly. Some are ‘frozen’ in a particular form, and some continue to inspire new forms. These changes during a lifetime and exchanges between cultures have been the central theme of the exhibition series Splendour and Shine. The focus of each exhibition shifts slightly, and the third in the series is Traditional Jewellery in Africa. It accompanies the exhibition in the Pfalzmuseum Forcheim.

As has become her trademark approach, Irene Steiner combines traditional jewellery and dress from the German-speaking world with that of the rest of the world.  Seven chapters explore this theme, ranging from geographical overviews to materials used. After the introductory chapter, first a geographical approach is used. This does not include all of Africa, but focuses on the Maghreb, Egypt, the Tuareg, Fulani and Fulbe tribes and their realm, Senegal, Mauretania, Mali, Ghana, Benin and Ethiopia. I was pleased to see North Africa included in a book on African jewellery, as too often this is not the case. These chapters are largely visual: they show jewellery and in some instances dress, as always modeled by the author’s daughters. The accompanying texts are the descriptions of the many photographs.

The next three chapters zoom in on materials used. Copper, iron and aluminium are followed by natural materials, beads and glass, and textiles. These chapters as well are mainly visual and have brief texts, that nonetheless touch upon complex topics. One of these is the paragraph on collecting (p. 49), where the author states that ‘well-researched private collections should be archived in museums’, as they contain both things themselves and information about them that is otherwise lost. This is a critical point in our current timeframe, as I have pointed out here. I would however expand the statement to not only well-researched private collections, but private collections in general. There is an incredible amount of history and heritage currently present in private homes that may disappear altogether, because museums are hesitant to accept privately built collections.

The final chapter introduces dress and adornment from Franconia. It illustrates how dress and adornment are so closely interconnected that when one element ceased to be used, the entire set of personal appearance changed and eventually disappeared.

This publication is (as I said above) mainly a visual reference. Like in the other two publications, the photographs are abundant and therefore often small, but they will bring you a good idea of the wide variety in dress and adornment. The volume is too short to explore the important issues it mentions (like the example above) in depth, so the bibliography is an important starting point for anyone wanting to read more on a certain chapter. It offers an extensive list of publications per chapter: a bibliography like this is an accomplishment and relevant contribution to the research field in itself. This third publication in the series Splendour and Shine offers a visual introduction in the wide and varied world of adornment from Africa.

Splendor and Shine III. Traditional Jewellery in Africa, by Irene Steiner.

90 pages, full-colour, bilingual German/English. Available with the author.

The book was gifted by the author.

More on traditional dress and adornment? Find other books here, and why not join the Jewellery List to get new book updates sent to you?

Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.

Beautiful Bodies

Beautiful Bodies

by | Reviews

gender and corporeal aesthetic in the past

Beautiful Bodies

Body aesthetic is increasingly understood as much more than just ornamentation. How we treat our bodies, dress our hair, inscribe our skin, apply make-up and fragrance as well as how we clothe and adorn ourselves is highly informative about how we see ourselves and how we would like others to see us. But how to approach this sense of self for past societies? Beautiful Bodies explores how archaeological studies may shed light on both beauty and gender, two highly discussed topics.

Beautiful Bodies is a series of articles resulting from a conference session on the same topic. As such, this is an academic read, that will bring you up to speed with current theory and thought about the relation of gender and body aesthetic, explored through archaeological material. Archaeology uses things and how they were found to attempt to explore the past, and this is also very applicable to grasping past notions of concepts like beauty and gender. Because, as the editor Uros Matic explains in the introduction, ‘beauty’ is achieved by doing something: putting your hair up in a certain way, applying make-up, wearing a certain outfit. For doing, you will need materials and tools, and those are what archaeologists ultimately find. The introductory chapter, like the last chapter, serves to provide context for the case studies in this book, and as such covers a few basics. It goes over how the social construct of ‘beauty’ is inevitably indicative of a class society, how it may be achieved in gendered spaces or through gendered acts, and how it can lead to racism and excluding: whoever does not conform to socially accepted beauty standards is often an outsider, and that sadly still holds true today.

The nine chapters that follow are in chronological order, starting out with an examination of aesthetic leadership by Queen Puabi in ancient Mesopotamia. Its author Helga Vogel considers not only the materials and colours of her jewellery and dress, but also their weight, as presented by Kim Benzel in her PhD-thesis. That weight (imagine up to 4 kg of jewellery) might have had ‘a significant impact on the physical embodiment of queenhood and her self-perception of being queen’. (p. 38) There is much to ponder about Puabi’s physical appearance and the significance attributed to her dress and adornment, which reminded me of the essay by Josephine Verduci in the Routledge Handbook of the Senses of the Ancient Near East: she points out how ‘multiple modes of experience can be working in unison’ (p. 137), and I imagine the sensory overload of Queen Puabi’s presence to do just that.

Pharaonic Egypt is presented in two chapters. Uros Matic considers how grooming activities for men were carried out in public places, for all to see, while women seem to have preferred their body-care to be carried out in private. While that points to a gender system behind beauty treatments (p. 62) and the use of gendered spaces, it got me thinking about what else this gender-defined time was used for: grooming, obviously, but how did that activity set the scene for others? What did women talk about in private, what was the point of men grooming in public? Could a point be made that female grooming acts might not just be beautification, but constituted a transformation, a rite de passage of sorts in themselves? His observation that Egyptology tends to create an image of ancient Egypt, populated by beautiful people (p. 58) is particularly noteworthy, as this adds another layer to our view of gender and beauty in the past: our own filters. The next chapter by Kira Zumkley focuses on a mystery grooming tool found in burials of both men and women, in elaborate and simpler contexts. She proposes this to be a tool for wig maintenance, and that is fascinating to me in relation to recent research on hair in ancient Egypt: excavations in Amarna have revealed the dressing of the hair of the dead by means of extensions and with head cones. Could bringing such a tool along with you have a particular agency in the context of an afterlife?

Hairstyles also are discussed in the chapter on the Aegean, where Filip Frankovic demonstrates that during the Bronze Age, social affiliation was based on age, before it shifted to gender: changes in hairstyle reveal a changing self-perception. Another layer of identification is explored for ancient Athens by Isabelle Algrain, which I found to be intriguing. Besides heteronormativity, she argues, politonormativity was a determining factor: status associated with male or female values mattered first and foremost in the context of citizenship (p. 173). Here, society defines who we are, before gender does.

Wanting to belong to a different social group is reflected in the use of mirrors, found in burials in the Roman province of Moesia Superior. Vladimir Mihajlovic argues that mirrors have been found with both male and female individuals, who were not necessarily Roman citizens. In self-fashioning themselves as such though, they attempted to perform their desired status into being: an ancient equivalent of ‘fake it ‘till you make it’. Exactly the opposite seems to have been the case in Viking-age Scandinavia. Bo Jensen makes the interesting point that ‘beauty’ was not something to achieve or generate: beauty was something everyone apparently possessed as long as there were no flaws, such as scars or marks. The last chapter deals with beauty ideals in Qajar Iran, where Maryam Dezkhamkooy takes us through the varying beauty ideals from genderless beauty to notably gender-differentiated preferences: an enriching read.

Beautiful Bodies is an exploration in both objects and ideas in the context of past gender norms. Not all chapters include all elements, but this entire book provides plenty of food for thought on how we might approach the past by carefully going over some of the most personal objects that have survived: those with which we create who we are and that in turn shape our world. It will get you thinking about how fashioning the self is related to the gendered structures of any given society, sometimes even shaping those, to manifesting our wishes and aspirations, and even to creating a particular afterlife – definitely a recommended read!

Beautiful Bodies. Gender and Corporeal Aesthetics in the Past. by Uros Matic (ed). Oxbow Books, 2022

305 pages, with B/W illustrations, in English. Available with the publisher and online.

The book was received as review copy by the publisher.

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Sigrid van Roode

Sigrid van Roode is an archeologist, ethnographer and jewellery historian. She considers jewellery heritage and a historic source. She has authored several books on jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, and on archaeological jewellery. Sigrid has lectured for the Society of Jewellery Historians, the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden and the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center, among many others. She curates exhibitions and teaches online courses on jewellery from North Africa & Southwest Asia.