The Fascination of Jewellery

The Fascination of Jewellery

by | European jewellery, Museums & Exhibitions

7,000 years of jewellery art

The Fascination of Jewellery

Published January 1, 2025

An exhibition of 7,000 years of jewellery: of course, I had to go and see that! The Cologne Museum of Applied Arts (MAKK) devoted an exhibition based on its own formidable collection of jewellery. It turned out to be a beautiful, albeit very classic, jewellery exhibition.

The MAKK jewellery collection

The MAKK holds around 1,700 pieces of jewellery in its collection. As this is a design museum (and so not specifically a jewellery or historic museum), and the collection has been built by both acquisition and generous gifts, the collection reflects a traditional European viewpoint of jewellery: Antiquity, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the 19th century form its focal points. [1]

The geographical focus of all this is profoundly European [2]: among the antiquities, there are of course pieces from the ancient civilizations in North Africa and Southwest Asia – these were avidly collected in Europe.

The ‘cross-cultural content’ of the exhibition, as mentioned on the exhibition website, therefore is to be seen as more cross-cultural within Europe, rather than cross-cultural as in: including non-Western cultures.

7,000 years of jewellery art in the MAKK

The exhibition itself is organised thematically as well as chronologically. This works very well: each showcase is devoted to a theme, which itself is then built up chronologically. The texts with each theme are very accessible and enlighting.

I loved that the exhibition started out with amulets as one of the first themes – one of my favourite capacities of jewellery! See a few of these in the gallery above: click to enlarge the images. Other themes include rings, mourning jewellery, inspiration from flora and fauna, as well as more stylistic developments such as the emergence of archaeologically inspired jewellery, Art Nouveau and mass-produced jewellery. A series of modern designs finally showcases contemporary takes on themes such as identity, the relation to the human body and intricate constructions.

The Fascination of Jewellery: the dreamed potential

I very much enjoyed seeing all of these stunning jewellery items and wandering through themes and time-periods. What I missed however, was an opportunity to highlight the meaning of jewellery beyond the art-historian.

For the Middle Ages for example, the art of enamelling in southern Europe and North Africa forms a technical connection between worlds that could have enhanced the exhibition, and the stylistic impact of the steppe peoples from Central Asia on early medieval jewellery is a beautiful illustration of how worlds are connected rather than separated.

And if ever there was a category of jewellery that underscores identity, it would be regional dress and adornment. The regional jewellery of the German-speaking world alone is so rich and varied, that attention to this jewellery, of more common people, could have added another layer of significance to the exhibition.

Of course, I understand that the collection of the MAKK formed the backbone of this exhibition, and also that this is one of the most respected collections of European jewellery – the jewellery shown in the exhibition is stunning and a privilege to study, no argument there. But with even a few loans from other collections, I think this particular exhibition could have transcended to an even more meaningful goal: building bridges in an increasingly fragmenting society – through jewellery. Illustrating how techniques, forms and designs form part of a shared cultural background of 7,000 years is, or could have been, an incredibly powerful message.

The Fascination of Jewellery: the catalogue

Despite my personal daydream of what a jewellery exhibition could offer, the objects on display are absolutely fabulous. Every single piece of jewellery is breathtaking!And so, I always hope for a catalogue with a jewellery exhibition.

Now one of the great things about exhibitions in German museums happens to be the catalogues, and the book that comes with this exhibition is no exception. It’s a huge, beautiful volume of more than 350 pages, entirely bilingual in German and English, and presents beautiful, crisp photos of the exhibited jewellery along with well-researched and insightful texts. It offers background on the collection strategy, has an introductory chapter on the collection itself by none other than Beatriz Chadour-Sampson, and gives ample explanations with every piece of jewellery featured.

The Fascination of Jewellery: 7,000 years of jewellery art

You will love this exhibition for the quality of its jewellery, offered to a wide public through easily digestible texts and themes. Wandering across the beautifully lit and designed showcases, you will get a great introduction into European jewellery throughout the ages. The catalogue that goes with the exhibition is a must if you work with European jewellery in any capacity! And even though I would have let this spectacular jewellery collection be the inspiration for a different type of exhibition myself, I had a great time – and I’m convinced you will, too.

The Fascination of Jewellery. 7,000 years of jewellery at the MAKK.

I visited the exhibition on my own initiative on Dec 28th, 2024, and purchased the catalogue myself.

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Find out more about the history of jewellery in the e-course!

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The Fascination of Jewellery: references

[1] Focal points as mentioned on the website of the museum, accessed January 1st, 2025.

[2] As explained in the catalogue, p. 14/15.

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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.

French Hallmarks

French Hallmarks

by | European jewellery, Reviews

A definitive guide

French Hallmarks

Published on March 15, 2024

After the beautiful first volume of French Regional Jewellery, a new book by Michael Fieggen has appeared that is sure to fill a gap in your library! French hallmarks, in detail, with just about everything you’d want to know.

French hallmarks: a practical book

For this book, let’s start at the very end of it: with the indexes. On the last pages you will find indexes of hallmarks, described visually: bees, amphoras, crabs, sphinxes, bulls….even if you have not read a single line in the book, it is immediately of very practical use. Look at the hallmark, identify the shape you see, look it up in the index.

There’s even a chapter with advice on magnifying glasses you’ll need to see the hallmarks: how to buy one, how to use one, and how to properly look at a piece of jewellery. And that’s just the end of the book: there is, of course, so much more!

French hallmarks: a completely new study

This is a book born out of one those ideas that seemed like a really good plan when you first thought of them, and that turn out to lead you straight into another rabbit hole of research. While working on his first book on regional jewellery (see more about it here), the author thought it would be useful to include an overview of hallmarks on jewellery.

When he started looking into them, he soon found that listing an overview of hallmarks was way more complicated than previously thought. Contradicting sources, no sources, erroneously copied marks that continued to be reproduced….there was a lot to tackle. And so, starting from scratch all over again, it took another two years to complete this book.

The result is a study which offers a very detailed overview of platinum, gold and silver hallmarks. It includes hallmarks that have never been published before, and shows a detailed history of hallmarks as they vary over time and per region.

French hallmarks and ethnic jewellery

For jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia, I rely on the formidable book World Hallmarks Vol. II by the Hallmark Research Institute. From 1859 to 1967, Algeria used the same hallmarks as those in France – that was because France regarded colonized Algeria as an integral part of their country. The only way to see if a piece of jewellery has been hallmarked in Algeria, is through the mark of the assay office.

The new book by Michael Fieggen includes all those assay offices, not just for Algeria (those are in the World Hallmarks book, too) but also for other regions that were once part of France. Like my own country, The Netherlands: there have been several assay offices located throughout The Netherlands in the early 1800’s.

With the wealth of information in this book, I will be able to date French-marked jewellery all the more precise!

French Hallmarks: a book you’ll need

This book is very well illustrated with clear drawings, schematics and close-up photos. I always find that very helpful, as a stamped mark may look just a little different from the drawing, and seeing them side by side helps in determining what I’m looking at.

It also contains schematics of the placement of hallmarks on different types of jewellery (so you’ll know where to look for it). There is detailed information on import marks, export marks, counterstamps, methods to test for silver and gold content, a bibliography, and a glossary.

And what I really liked, are the small sections with a single anecdote dispersed throughout the book: little bits of additional info that help to understand the hallmarks in their context.

The hardcopy of the book is in French, as you see above in the photo, but for foreign orders an English pdf is available: check the website for more details.

If you are working with French hallmarked jewellery in any capacity, you will greatly benefit from this book!

 

More about French Hallmarks

Les poinçons français des métaux précieux, de 1789 á ce jour.

By Michael C.W. Fieggen (2024). 190 pages, full-colour, available in French (hardcopy) and English (pdf). Published by Michael Fieggen.

Available with the author via this link

The book was gifted as review copy by the author.

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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. 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.

In Death Lamented

In Death Lamented

by | European jewellery, Reviews

The Tradition of Anglo-American mourning jewelry

In Death Lamented

Updated August 08, 2024

Jewellery serves many more purposes than just being pretty, and that is what I love about it. One of those purposes is to accompany its wearers through major events – like dealing with the death of a loved one. In Death Lamented by Sarah Nehama presents an overview of mourning jewellery in the Anglo-American world.

In Death Lamented: the exhibition and the book

In Death Lamented is the companion volume with the exhibition of the same name, held in 2012 in Massachusetts. And oh, would I have loved to see that! Instead, I am super lucky to now own the book, and I love it. Because, as Sarah writes in her introduction, she approaches this jewellery from a historical perspective – and you know that is what makes me tick, too!

The book showcases the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society alongside the private collection of Sarah herself. Together, they illustrate the development of mourning jewellery over time.

Mourning jewellery across centuries

In Death Lamented presents an overview of mourning jewellery from the 17th century to the late 19th century. As the title says, its focus is on Anglo-American jewellery, and as such this is the historical perspective as well.

That overview starts out in the 15th and 16th centuries. In this timeframe, jewellery with a memento mori-theme (‘remember you must die’) was created to remind the wearer of their own mortality. Actual mourning jewellery, so in remembrance of a loved one, also existed during this period.

The popularity of mourning jewellery took off when the English King Charles I was executed – mourning his death became an act of resistance among his supporters and jewellery became a secret token of allyship. The book shows a few of these pieces, and describes how these customs crossed the Atlantic to continue to flourish there.

Mourning jewellery in colonial America

The next chapter explores mourning jewellery in 17th and 18th century, mostly in the New World. A completely new practice, at least for me, was handing out mourning rings at funerals – apparently, attending as many funerals as possible and collecting these almost like souvenirs [p. 23] was quite the rage!

This chapter discusses the evolving stylistic elements of mourning jewellery, including the incorporation of hair. That is a topic I particularly love, as hair has very strong personal and ritual capacities in so many cultures. The catalogue with this chapter illustrates those evolving styles: with each piece of jewellery, an elaborate description places the jewel in its cultural context and presents what is known about the persons they commemorate: I loved reading this little personal histories.

Mourning jewellery of the New Republic

The story of mourning jewellery then continues in the late 18th and 19th century. Here, we see the imagery change, reflecting changes in funerary customs as well. [p. 42] I found it fascinating to read how the visual language of the Classical world made an appearance in mourning women, silent urns and weeping willows [p. 42] and how the visual codes changed from skulls and bones to more hopeful symbols.

This transition is also abundantly shown in the catalogue with this part: here as well, personal histories of the persons remembered intertwine with political history. I learned that the death of George Washington spurred another flurry of mourning jewellery, illustrated by a locket holding a few of his hairs.

Mourning jewellery before the Civil War

In the 19th century, archaeological revival styles became fashionable and left their mark on mourning jewellery as well. Increasingly, medieval (notably Gothic) and Etruscan styles became popular. The language of particular materials such as pearls or diamonds was reinforced by the language of flowers, a development I also read about in this book on Lover’s Eyes jewellery.

Following the death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria famously went into heavy mourning that set off an entire industry of jet jewellery. This was picked up upon on the other side of the Atlantic as well, and jet and hair jewellery became very, very popular. And of course, there was a new invention that added another layer to the intensity of mourning jewellery: photography.

Mourning jewellery from the Civil War to the end of the 19th century

The book concludes with the surge in mourning jewellery as a result of the Civil War, the death of Prince Albert and the murder of Abraham Lincoln. It also discusses how mourning jewellery came to an end: hairworks became to be perceived as ‘unsanitary’, life circumstances improved in general, and ostentatiously showing loss and grief became less socially acceptable.

In Death Lamented: a wonderful overview of mourning jewellery

It’s safe to say I have learned again a great deal in reading this book. I loved how the author places jewellery against its historical and cultural background and explains how styles evolved, symbolism changed and mourning jewellery continued to take on new meanings. The many photographs are large, clear and very insightful.

The descriptions of the jewellery are also consistent and precise. Especially with objects that carry text, it really helps to know what the original, surviving text is, and where individual letters or numbers have been reconstructed. This, along with the guidelines for measurements given, is explained in the editorial note at the beginning of the book.

This is absolutely a book you will love – whether you’re studying, selling or just are interested in this particular type of jewellery!

More about In Death Lamented

In Death Lamented. The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry. By Sarah Nehama (2012). 128 pages, full-colour, in English. Published by University of Virginia Press.

Available with the publisher and the Massachusetts Historical Society

See more about Sarah’s research on mourning jewellery here!

I purchased the book directly from Sarah.

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Would you like to quote this article? Please do! 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].

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.

Traditional French jewellery

Traditional French jewellery

by | European jewellery, Reviews

Rural jewels of 18th and 19th century France

French Regional Jewellery

Published on Jan 24, 2024

Apart from traditional jewellery from North Africa and the Middle East, I am also very interested in European traditional jewellery. And I love books! So when I came across Traditional French Jewellery in the bookshop of the MAD in Paris, it took me all of 2 seconds flipping through its pages to decide this was a must-have. Let me tell you why.

French regional jewellery: the website

This book does not appear out of thin air. The author, Michael Fieggen, set out to research traditional jewellery from all regions of France almost 30 years ago. Those decades of research were aimed at providing a reliable reference work on French jewellery. A reference work is obviously useless when you can’t refer to it, so Michael created a wonderful website back in 2010. You’ll find it here.

This is one of the things I absolutely love: sharing one’s knowledge with whomever wants to learn. It’s all there, sorted regionally and thematically, with an abundance of jewellery examples.

But even more wonderful, at least in my view, is that collectors of jewellery wanted to have an actual, tangible book [p. 5]. It makes me so happy that books are not dead, and that there are people who actually want to read them! Especially when it is a book as lavish as this one.

French regional jewellery: the book

The main body of this book is composed of chapters devoted to the regions of France and their jewellery. And wow, what stunning jewellery this is!

Each region is represented by numerous pieces of jewellery, and I really appreciate seeing various executions within one single type. There are jewels in silver and gold, but also glass, beads, ivory, fabrics, enameling, early celluloid…The range of jewellery is huge: you’ll find earrings, necklaces, pendants, rings and bracelets, but also clasps, hooks, pins, buttons, belt hooks, and much more.

The research behind it is extensive. Just one example is on p. 103, where a postcard image of a young woman wearing a Narbonne cross in a particular fashion is shown. The caption calls out attention the fact that it is not known if this was indeed how it was supposed to be worn, or that this is staged by the publisher issuing the postcard.

This level of source criticism is seen throughout the book. It makes one read the information presented with confidence. And that is enhanced by the references throughout. The reference numbers indicate the corresponding number in the bibliography (so there is no separate section with notes – but this works well, too).

French regional jewellery: the details

This book has been painstakingly compiled, with a lot of attention to details. For example, all the images in the book are at their actual size, except rings: those have been enlarged to 150 to 200% [p. 11]. That is incredibly useful, eliminates the guessing game of how large something actually is, and makes for stunning illustrations throughout.

Those photographs are simply gorgeous. They are crisp, clear, and every single piece has been cut out and placed against the white of the page. Enlargements of jewels bleeding off the page make for a playful touch every now and then. Where possible, enlargements of the hallmarks have been added in small insets next to a jewel.

Besides jewellery images, you will find plenty of other reference material. Old photos, paintings and drawings of people wearing jewellery, old illustrations from jewellery catalogues, a poem from 1887…there is so much information strewn across these pages.

French regional jewellery: and there is more!

But that’s not all! The book also contains a detailed overview of French hallmarks (seriously, it’s clear to see this is 3 decades of work right here), and every single illustration is included in a detailed list of illustrations. That list gives you details of each piece of jewellery such as its dimensions (to complement the image itself, which is already true to size, as I mentioned), weight and hallmark (if any), but also its provenance.

There is an extensive bibliography, a glossary (just in case you are a little rusty in French, as I am – this is a fantastic overview of terms), and my favourite: a rapid guide for identifying regional crosses. France being France, there are a lot of different types of crosses, and these are all sorted for you in this chapter.

This is truly an amazing reference book for French regional jewellery. It also sets a high standard for future reference works: its clarity of illustration and level of detail and variety is super helpful. It will make you fall in love with French rural jewellery, as this book absolutely presents it as the treasure it is.

And there is more to come…! The author wrote me and mentioned he’s currently writing the second volume of traditional French jewellery that is not regional in origin (honestly, I cannot wait). This will explore the jewellery associated with life transitions and events such as baptism, marriage etc. And….there’s a complete book on French hallmarks scheduled to appear very, very soon!

Long story short: if you are collecting European regional jewellery or working with European regional jewellery in any capacity, you really will want to own this book.

More about Traditional French Jewellery

Traditional French Jewellery. Volume 1. Regional jewellery: treasured witnesses of rural life in the 18th and 19th century. By Michael C.W. Fieggen (2021). 304 pages, full-colour, available in French and English. Published by Michael Fieggen

Available with the author via this link, where you will also find details on his upcoming book on hallmarks

I purchased the book in the museum shop of the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.

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Would you like to quote this article? Please do! 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].

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. 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.

Jewellery Museum Pforzheim

Jewellery Museum Pforzheim

by | Museums & Exhibitions

new perspectives

A visit to the Jewellery Museum, Pforzheim

The Jewellery Museum (Schmuckmuseum) in Pforzheim, Germany, is a must visit destination for anyone interested in jewellery and jewellery history. Here is what I saw during my last visit!

View into the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim Schmuckmuseum

Sigrid van Roode looking at the waterfall of jewellery in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Sigrid in Schmuckmuseum

View into the exposition room filled with rings in the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim Ring Room

Four stunning rings from the collection of the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, against a black backround.

Bedouin Silver | Pforzheim ring selection

The museum houses a vast collection of jewellery, both from Europe and from other parts of the world. That jewellery is something that connects us, and expresses shared values, is highlighted in the room ‘What Is Jewellery?’. I featured an in-depth exploration of this theme by the museum in this blog, and seeing it for myself was a treat!

In this room (you’ll see an impression in the gallery of images above), the first thing that caught my eye was a sparkling waterfall of gold and gold-tinted jewellery cascading down from the ceiling in the central showcase. Jewellery from all eras and geographical locations is presented here in a seeming jumble that still is perfectly harmonious. As you can see by the slightly bewildered look on my face in the second photo, I enjoyed spending time peering into this showcase from all its sides, there is so much to see here! There is a sense of joy and playfulness in this installment that I believe is really important, too, in between the more serious aspects of jewellery history: just enjoying jewellery, simply for its own sake.

That same combination of jewellery from different times and places continues throughout the room. In every showcase, a different topic is highlighted that is shared by multiple cultures. The use of specific colours for example, or the values attached to jewellery, or the protective capacities it holds, or the social status it communicates. You’ll find jewellery here from North Africa, Oceania, Central Asia, India, Tibet, Nepal and other places combined with European jewellery. It is a multidisciplinary and integrated approach to what jewellery means to the society that used and created it, and I found it very valuable to start out my visit to the museum by pondering what jewellery is, exactly: it gets one thinking and provides context for the other collections.

Next were two rooms filled with jewellery history, from the Classical world until the revival pieces of the 19th century, and everything in between. I stayed here for a considerable time, because the museum boasts a formidable collection of historic rings, and these are shown here, too. Hundreds of them! If you have a thing for rings, this is the space for you. They are neatly organized in separate showcases, that each present a selection of rings in chronological and geographical order. You’ll see what that looks like in the third photo above. I did not really notice how brilliant this display was until I was done: because the rings are displayed in so many showcases, it feels like peeking into yet another treasure chest. Each showcase has just the right amount of rings, too: you’ll be able to enjoy them instead of reaching that point of overwhelm. I can’t recall having admired hundreds of rings and still being eager to see more: well done in terms of managing the attention span of visitors!

But there is more than rings: the showcases along the walls present necklaces, bracelets, earrings, tiaras and so much more, also in chronological order. A separate section with pocket watches brings jewellery and technique together, but I must admit that I spent most of my time with the jewellery exposition. The quality of the pieces shown here is also breathtaking: I created a collage of a few rings in the last photo above, to give you an idea of what awaits you. The exhibition continues with a bright, large room dedicated to more recent jewellery. Here, I saw dreamy, delicate Art Nouveau jewellery and modern jewellery creations: the art of jewellery craftmanship is still very much alive in Pforzheim.

After all that, it was time for a coffee in the pleasant museum café and perusing the well-stocked bookshop. I really like the themed publications such as Landscapes in Jewellery, Animal Myths in Jewellery, and Sun, Moon and Stars in Jewellery, but of course there is much more (see the bookshop here – the list of publications can be downloaded), and you will be able to find many jewellery pieces and other gifts.

I highly recommend visiting the Schmuckmuseum if you have the opportunity: with several temporary exhibitions every year, there is sure to be something that is of interest to you. The signage is bilingual in both English and German. Also check out the online magazine Melting Pot: lots of thought-provoking and interesting jewellery articles!

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Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany: see practical info on their website (using the toggle in the upper right corner, you can set the language to German, English or French).

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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. 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.