Sensory research
Jewellery and the senses: touch
Published on August 09, 2024
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 second article, we’ll look at touch.
Why study jewellery and touch?
Touch is an often overlooked but super significant aspect of jewellery. I mean, jewellery is literally meant to be worn on the body, and so the wearer will end up feeling it. That is where it differs from sight: sight plays with the distance between you and another person, but touch is highly personal and usually reserved for the wearer alone.
But touch is not just important for the wearers of that jewellery, but for researchers as well. The tactile qualities of jewellery play a crucial role in both their experiences and understanding. So, let’s explore the importance of touch from these two perspectives!
Touch: wearing jewellery
For wearers, the tactile properties of jewellery are integral to their personal and cultural experience. The weight, texture, and temperature of jewellery materials can evoke feelings of comfort, identity, and connection to heritage. It does something that is not always easy to put into words. And that ‘something’ is personal: of all the senses, feeling one’s jewellery is an experience for the wearer alone. Others may see, hear and even smell your jewellery, but how it feels…? That is between you and your jewellery.
Wearing jewellery: weight and presence
The weight of jewellery and other personal adornment can be a constant physical reminder of cultural identity and social status. Just one example are the coin-laden headdresses of Palestine, known as saffeh. They create a continuous sensory presence on the head, and their weight influences how the wearer carries herself.
I was allowed to wear such a headdress briefly in the home of a Palestinian collector, and the weight had a profound effect on my posture and, this may seem odd, the awareness of my own head. Feeling the headdress somehow made me feel more visible.
During that same visit, I was also dressed in a sleeveless jacket heavily decorated with coins. This was a miqlab, a bridal garment on which family would attach both coins and pieces of silver. This, too, felt heavy, and it made me think how a bride would feel in the knowledge that the weight of this garment literally embodied her own financial security and independence.
Jewellery and touch: texture
The texture of jewellery materials, whether smooth, rough, or intricately carved, provides wearers with a direct connection to the craftsmanship involved in their creation. Texture is also deliberately aimed not just at seeing, but also at wearing: the side of a jewel touching the skin is often smooth, while the exterior may be decorated in some way.
Besides wear comfort, there is also the tactile experience of feeling your jewels throughout the day. We all fumble with our necklaces, I think, and, speaking for myself at least, when someone compliments me on my necklace, I usually reach for it to feel which one I’m wearing – and I know instantly upon the touch.
It’s that sensation of textures which may reinforce the value of the jewellery, not just as an adornment but as a highly personal piece. There may be reassurance in smoothness or softness for example, something that is agreeable to the touch.
Jewellery and touch: temperature and material properties
Temperature is real! These temperature sensations change with the environment, creating a dynamic interaction between the jewellery and the wearer. There is that shiver when you put on a necklace on a cold day – but it’s gone in a few minutes. And there is the opposite, wearing metal jewellery on a hot day, when the outside of a bracelet can be too hot to touch.
Each material has its own qualities when it comes to temperature: bone, wood, glass, various metals…they all interact with the wearer in a different way.
All of this makes touch an incredibly important part of jewellery research. So how does that work?
Jewellery and touch as a research method
Engaging with jewellery through touch is vital. It may reveal so much about the materials, construction techniques, and cultural significance that might not be evident through visual inspection alone. You really need to see more than just a photo: jewellery needs to be handled. It’s by holding an object that you’ll get a better idea of its physical qualities, and from there, what does and does not work in its cultural context.
That goes for archaeological jewellery in particular: you’re usually not allowed to try a piece of jewellery on in a museum, but that is actually exactly what is needed to get how it may have been worn in the past.
Here are 3 ways touch works as a great research tool.
1 Material identification
Touching and handling jewellery can help identify materials that might be difficult to discern visually. For example, distinguishing between bone and ivory, or between glass and precious stones, often requires tactile examination (on top of tons of other methods!). The feel of the material can provide clues about its origins and the techniques used to shape it.
2 Craftsmanship and construction
By feeling the surface and construction of jewellery, you can also gain insights into the craftsmanship and techniques employed. Is it hollow or solid? Can you feel joints, or for example moving parts? That tactile experience can help reconstruct the making processes, and get an idea on how a piece of jewellery may have functioned in everyday life.
3 Wear patterns
Handling jewellery allows you to study wear patterns that indicate how pieces were used and valued. It’s those places where a bracelet or an anklet has run smooth from years of wearing, that tell you a lot about its everyday life. Usewear, as this is called, has so much to share about the jewellery’s history and the lifestyle of its wearers!
With archaeological jewellery, this is a bit more difficult, but this is where replica jewellery comes in. By wearing similar pieces, that have preferably been made in the same manner as they would have been in the past, you not only get a feel for how they may have been worn, but also on how they ‘behave’ – and end up with wear and tear.
Jewellery and touch: wearing and researching
So, as you see, both wearers and researchers experience touch in complementary ways.
For wearers, the tactile interaction with jewellery is continuous and often very personal. The feel of a necklace resting on your chest, the movement of bangles, and the weight of earrings contribute to the sensory landscape of the wearer. It’s reassuring in some way, to feel a piece of jewellery on your skin, and you miss it when it’s not there.
Researchers approach touch with a more analytical perspective. And they do so in two ways: there is studying how touch has left traces on the object itself, to get an idea how it may have been worn. And there is handling of a piece of jewellery in turn: like I wrote above, actually handling pieces is super important!
In jewellery studies, interviews with original wearers is super important. Their tactile experiences and meanings associated with the jewellery are vital, and you’ll only understand these from actually wearing the items they’re talking about – sharing an experience.
Jewellery and touch: a highly personal aspect
By appreciating and studying the tactile aspects of ethnic jewellery, you may get that much closer to their original wearers. How does a piece of jewellery feel, how does it sit on your body, how does it interact with other items of personal adornment such as dress or hair? Touch is much more close to the skin than sight, and so touch is, in my view, a very personal aspect of jewellery.
In the next installment on the sensory dimensions of jewellery, we’ll be looking at smell!
Read the other blogs on the sensory aspects of jewellery here:
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References
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].
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 the jewellery of the Egyptian zar-ritual. 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.