Sensory research
Jewellery and the senses: sound
Published on January 28, 2025
Ethnic jewellery is often studied for its aesthetic, symbolic, and material qualities. But there is much more to it, that is difficult to study from a book or when a jewel is lying in a museum case…and that is the sensory experiences it evokes for its wearers and the people around it. And imagine, for archaeological jewellery that is even harder, as there is no one left to ask! So, I wanted to introduce the relationship between jewellery and the senses: what did a piece of jewellery mean for its wearer? And what do we miss out as researchers and collectors, coming from another culture or timeframe? In this fourth article, we’ll look at sound.
Why study jewellery and sound?
Jewellery is not just a visual or tactile experience; it engages the sense of hearing as well. The jingling of bells, the clinking of chains, and the resonant hum of metallic discs brushing against one another are very important. They do something: they transform jewellery into an interactive and performative medium. That means that a piece of jewellery becomes much more than just a form of adornment: it is part of a living, moving cultural context. It moves along with its wearer, and it jingles!
In the Middle East and North Africa, where oral traditions, music, and rhythm are part and parcel of cultural expression, the sounds produced by jewellery play a significant role in daily life. Sound, by its very nature, requires interaction between object and wearer. Jewellery does not create sound when it’s lying around: it’s that interaction between human and thing again that makes jewellery into something more.
So that makes it a fascinating lens through which to study jewellery’s social and symbolic functions.
Sound: wearing sound in the Middle East
In many communities, jewellery that produces sound is not just a personal accessory but an extension of the wearer’s identity. The particular jingling, clinking, or ringing of a piece can make someone recognizable even before they appear in sight. If you are one of those people that loves to wear tons of jewellery, you know what I’m talking about…!
In this sense, jewellery becomes a kind of auditory signature, a way for individuals to announce their presence or movements. The tinkling sound of anklets for example would indicate to a mother where her child was playing (and all mothers know that when the sounds stops, it’s definitely time to go and check out what they’re doing!).
Wearing sound: dance
Obviously, dance provides a particularly vivid context in which jewellery’s auditory qualities come to life. The jingling of coins on belts or the clinking of bracelets creates an interplay between the dancer’s body and the ornaments they wear.
As such, they also contribute to the performance by creating an immersive sensory experience for the audience. The sound of jewellery becomes part of the rhythm, reinforcing the connection between dancer, music, and the spectators.
Wearing sound: amulets
As you know, jewellery almost always serves a protective function. And that definitely includes sound. Those small bells or coins attached to necklaces, bracelets, or anklets have as additional effect that they repel negative energies or the “evil eye.”
Sound has the power to influence unseen forces – they will be scared off. Sound creates an audible barrier, and so you will find dangles and other jingling elements quite often in jewellery.
Jewellery and sound as a research field
Unlike visual or material qualities, sound (much like smell) is fleeting. You really need to experience jewellery in its original world, to get an idea of what its auditory capacities are. That is because jewellery is part of a living, breathing community: we often find it solitary depicted in books or showcased in exhibitions, but it is meant to move, shake and shimmy!
So how to go about that? Apart from listening to your jewellery itself, here context is everything. This is a topic where you’d need to dive into the world of everyday life: are there any references to the sound of jewellery in poetry, songs, sayings and expressions? How far does sound carry in the everyday surroundings where the jewellery was worn? Would it have been muffled by the fabric of clothing, are there occasions where sound is inappropriate? Does jewellery made of high-grade silver sound differently than jewellery of low-grade silver or base metal – can you distinguish between social statuses just by listening to the sound of jewellery…?
Jewellery never is just adornment – it is an unalienable part of its community, and that goes for its temporary capacities, too.
Jewellery and sound: an auditory world of meaning
So, by exploring the relationship between jewellery and sound, we may gain a deeper understanding of how these objects were experienced in their original contexts. It also helps us to consider what is lost when jewellery is removed from its sensory and cultural environment. That goes for all the sensory capacities of jewellery, of course, but when jewellery falls silent, we really miss out!
Read the earlier blogs on the sensory aspects of jewellery here:
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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.