A wider world

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Museums & Exhibitions

new display

A Wider World

The Jewellery Museum in Pforzheim, Germany, houses a significant collection of non-Western jewellery. The collection was assembled by Eva and Peter Herion, and I have had the good fortune of seeing it a couple of years ago. In March 2023, the redesigned exhibition has opened and I have been in touch with Isabel Schmidt-Mappes of the museum to learn about the concepts behind the new exposition. It is my great pleasure to present you with this guest contribution by the Jewellery Museum: a view on intertwined histories, cultural contacts and cultural contexts. As a jewellery researcher, I can’t stress the importance of the context of jewellery enough, and so this redesigned exhibition is exciting!

What Is Jewellery? Criss-cross through the Jewellery Museum’s collections

What looks like an octagon formed by two intersecting squares is in fact a small box complemented by triangles on the sides. Made of silver set with turquoise, it is called Ga’u, and was created in Lhasa in the 20th century (see the photo below, shown on the left, photo Petra Jaschke/Schmuckmuseum). It is juxtaposed with a blue brooch of comparable size, crafted from blue steel mesh and silver by Than Truc Nguyen in Berlin in 2012 (shown on the right, photo Schmuckmuseum). The two objects share similarities in colour and form: both are a shade of blue, and they are based on geometrical shapes. However, there is an essential difference between them. The former is an amulet case, originally worn by Tibetan noblewomen to both ward off evil and conjure up protective spirits, whereas the latter is a piece of contemporary jewellery, whose moiré effect plays with appearance and reality, resembling a glittering gemstone when the incident light is at a certain angle. This pairing may be surprisingly unusual, but it invites visitors to take the time to get a feel for the objects’ individual character. »We’re showcasing the objects on the basis of universal design principles,« says Cornelie Holzach, the museum’s Director. Commonalities and differences – across putative boundaries in terms of culture, region or era – are the focus of the new presentation of the Herion bequest.

Jewellery in a wider scope

The ethnographic Eva and Peter Herion-collection had originally been given to the Jewellery Museum as a permanent loan, and has meanwhile passed into the museum’s ownership. When the remodelled museum opened in 2006, parts of the Herion collection were set up with a special focus on Africa and Asia. Conceived as a semi-permanent exhibition back then, it is now being redesigned on the basis of a fundamentally new approach. The discussion held in recent years about our approach to ethnographic artefacts requires a new view of non-European jewellery. Here it is essential to see the objects from different perspectives. Their cultural and historical context is as important as the artistic aspirations involved, and they also need to be regarded within the framework of global jewellery history. Objects from all of the museum’s collections, whether from the historical, the modern or the ethnographic collection, will therefore be exhibited in a manner that allows them to enter into dialogue with each other. »We’ll no longer be showing the ethnographic artefacts in the context assigned to them for a long time, i.e. as something foreign that stands in contrast to our Western culture. Instead, we’ll be displaying them subsumed under the overarching theme of ‘The phenomenon of jewellery’, highlighting that there is something innately human about jewellery,« explains the jewellery expert. This will give visitors an opportunity to immerse themselves in a wide variety of jewellery in a presentation that has not been put together according to previously accepted criteria, allowing them to discover diverse new perspectives or even come up with their own.

Contextualising instead of categorizing

The redesigned exhibition’s rich diversity of objects piques visitors’ curiosity to explore it. They are drawn into the room by what looks like a display case in a cabinet of curiosities in the centre, brimming with a motley assortment of intriguing artefacts. The exhibits in the showcases along the walls are contextualised culturally, geographically and historically. They are displayed according to aesthetic, functional or technical aspects on the basis of fundamental criteria like form and material, as well as corresponding sub-criteria, such as surface design and colour, for example. Visitors will need to take a closer look to become aware of these aspects, and there will be moments of surprise, or of pausing and pondering to avoid categorising a piece prematurely.

The display case devoted to the colour red, for example, shows a breast ornament: a crescent-shaped piece of mother-of-pearl, coloured with redwood pigment (in the photo above, shown to the left, photo by Petra Jaschke/Schmuckmuseum). It is called Kina, and was created by the Mendi people in the highlands of Papua New Guinea in the 20th century. The same showcase displays a Nabataean-Hellenistic lunula pendant, which is also shaped like a half moon, and was crafted from gold and garnets in the second to first centuries BCE (shown to the right, photo by Neck Bürgin/Schmuckmuseum). Both objects are similar in colour and shape but very different in terms of their meaning, origin, materials and the crafting technique involved, as visitors can read in accompanying texts. The mother-of-pearl ornament is a coveted barter item, and is worn on the breast at special occasions involving dances. The brighter the red colour the higher the piece’s value. This is why the shells are often painted. Lunula pendants, in contrast, were popular both during the New Kingdom in Egypt and the Hellenistic period, and were worn as amulets to ward off evil.

This exhibition concept is underscored by the room’s design: a network of lines criss-crossing the display cases shows connections between individual objects, as well as points of intersection. The underlying idea runs like a leitmotif throughout the other rooms of the permanent exhibition because ethnographic jewellery will be displayed in several showcases there as well. Thus, this newly designed exhibition space has an additional function: it introduces visitors to the theme of jewellery and self-ornamentation.

The aim of presenting the Herion collection in dialogue with the museum’s historical and modern collections is quite in line with the collectors’ ideas. The Pforzheim-based couple Eva and Peter Herion, who acquired a wide variety of adornments on their travels – mainly to Africa and Asia – between 1970 and 2006, were fascinated by jewellery in all its diversity. Peter Herion was an entrepreneur, goldsmith and artist, and both had a strong interest in non-European cultures and their artworks.

A starting point for exploration

Also, labels with questions, such as »wearable or not?«, »valuable or not?« or »heavy or lightweight?«, for example, are attached to individual display cases in the ethnographic collection. This detail expresses the exhibition makers’ desire to offer scope for experimentation and participation. Cornelie Holzach comments: »We’ll have more questions than answers, and we want to find answers to these questions with the help of experts, as well as non-specialists.« The new presentation is not a definitive exhibition format but a starting point for further exploring the aspects concerned and introducing them into public discourse.

In addition to the analogue exhibition, there will be a digital platform allowing visitors to approach the objects in their own individual way. Those who want to can embark on a journey around the world or through different eras in the shape of an avatar, or explore each of the »curiosities« separately. Moreover, detailed views and descriptions enable visitors to arrange groupings according to their own criteria, or to have a timeline created for their selection.

The new presentation has been conceived and developed by the entire team of the Jewellery Museum in collaboration with the ethnologist Dr. Andreas Volz and the art historian Dr. Martina Eberspächer. Exhibition design by the interior designer Cornelia Wehle, graphic design by L2M3 Kommunikationsdesign, digital applications by 2av.

[English translation: Sabine Goodman]

— Practical details

Opening hours: Tue–Sun and holidays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (except for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve)

Admission to the permanent exhibition € 4.50, reduced price € 2.50, € 6 incl. a visit to the Technical Museum of Pforzheim’s Jewellery and Watchmaking Industries, free admission for children no older than 14 and for holders of a Museums-Pass-Musées

Guided tours for groups by appointment

Public guided tours through the permanent exhibition Sun 3 p.m., € 6.50, reduced price € 4.50 Partners: Pforzheimer Zeitung and SWR2

For more information, please visit http://www.schmuckmuseum.de

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.

Lover’s Eyes

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Ancient jewellery, Reviews

miniature art

Lover’s Eyes

The eye has been a powerful motif since the earliest pieces of adornment were created. It protects the wearer and features in either stylized or natural form. At the end of the 18^th and beginning of the 19^th century, a new category was added to this millennia-old repertoire: miniature portraits of the eye of an actual person, so-called ‘Lover’s Eyes’. The book ‘Lover’s Eyes’ presents a superb private collection of these tiny masterpieces.

‘Lover’s Eyes’ is the name given to these jewels, as a love story is what first comes to mind. That is because the most famous commissioner of such a portrait was the Prince of Wales, later to be King George IV: he sent a jewel with an image of his eye to his beloved Maria Fitzherbert. They married secretly and she commissioned a similar portrait for him to carry with him at all times. Over the years, they exchanged several of these jewels, and of the 10 pieces Maria had had created for him, nine were returned to her after his death – the 10^th piece is still with him following his final wishes. But there is much more to them than secret love interests, and that is what makes this book such a wonderful read.

More than 130 eye-jewels from the collection of Nan and David Skier are presented in this book. The book is based on the exhibition catalogue that appeared in 2012 alongside the exhibition ‘The Look of Love’ in the Birmingham Museum of Art, but has now significantly been updated, expanded with four new chapters and additional jewellery pieces. The new chapters open up a treasure of history and background details against which to interpret these pieces.

One of these new essays deals with the settings of these portraits. The eye miniatures themselves are exquisite, but their setting adds to their meaning. In the spirit of Georgian expression, gemstones formed a language as well. The essay ‘Symbol and Sentiment’ explores these added capacities. I found it fascinating to learn that in this timeframe, too, coral was highly valued because of its protective capacities, and as the author writes it is indeed interesting to wonder if a coral setting of an eye miniature protects the person wearing the piece or the person depicted in the piece, or perhaps both (p. 48). Garnets, as a symbol of friendship, may indicate a piece was intended as gift to a close friend rather than to a lover, while pearl points more to love, and so the variety of gemstones present in eye miniatures is discussed.

That same added visual language is also present in the flowers depicted, which is explored in the essay on Floriography. Here, we learn about the history of floral symbolism in England. As the author remarks, there are relatively few pieces that combine floral motifs with eyes (p. 71), which is noteworthy for such a longstanding tradition. I could not help but wonder if the absence of floral language is informative in itself and tells us a little about how these eye portraits were perceived. Flowers communicate virtues and values about a person depicted to the onlooker. The eye jewellery however, while publicly worn, balances on the threshold between private and public: it combines presence with absence, identity with anonymity: could it be the use of added messages was mostly refrained from, so as to not give away too much to the onlooker? It’s just a thought, but this and other topics show how these eye portraits remain enigmatic objects in certain respects. Another tradition that is very much present in eye miniatures is the use of hairwork, as present in the second half of the essay on Symbol and Sentiment. These are not only to be understood as mourning or memorial jewellery – the gifting of hairlocks also occurred among friends and relatives.

The advent of photography is one of the factors that contributed to the dwindling popularity of eye miniatures. Yet, they never disappeared completely, as the last essays ‘Fake or Fashion and ‘Love never Dies’ explore. Eye jewellery was again popular in the late 19^th and in the beginning of the 20^th century, but these miniatures were no longer portraits of actual persons. The book walks us through the differences and development of styles, into the area of falsifications. As with all fakes, forgers are increasingly ingenious, and I found the section on methods to reveal fakes very enlightening: I would not be able to discern an authentic piece from a fake with the naked eye (no pun intended), but I found the discussion very helpful, also in its regard of what actually constitutes a fake. After all, eye miniatures continue to be made today: the exhibition in 2012 itself sparked another round of interest in these objects and inspired new creations reflecting our own timeframe. Here, the original Lover’s Eyes merge with older forms and meaning of eye depictions. The Eye of Time as designed by Dalí for example (p. 105) recalls both eye jewellery from the Mediterranean in its shape as the lover’s eyes in the addition of a teardrop, and the large eyes painted on the cassette ceiling of Blenheim Palace mix the other way around: their general shape is reminiscent of the watchful eye, but they are related to the eye jewellery miniatures in their depiction of the actual eyes of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough (p. 103).

Jewellery, especially talismanic jewellery, tells us a lot about its wearer. This category of jewellery does even more so, as it captures traits of actual persons. They speak of love and loss, and as such hold incredibly personal stories that we may never know in detail. I loved the amount of detail this book provides to place these pieces in context: the other imagery of the time, such as the language of gemstones and flowers or their use as sentimental jewellery. The essays on the ‘Artist’s Eye’ and ‘The Intimate Gaze’ on Richard Cosway, who painted the eye miniatures for the Prince of Wales, shed light on the practical sides of this artistic genre – like the prince ordering, but rarely if ever actually paying.

The design of the book itself reminds me of a jewellery cassette: square and, upon careful opening, filled with wonderfully photographed pieces. The catalogue takes up about half of the book and showcases each piece against a dark background: I found it particularly helpful that the text consistently refers to catalogue entries, which makes for easy comparison. Many of the catalogue entries are discussed in detail in the main text, and where needed, extra information is added in the catalogue section. The book is referenced throughout with endnotes with each essay – don’t miss out on the notes, they contain even more fascinating tidbits!

This is a very complete, accessible overview of one of the most intriguing jewellery types of the last centuries, that should definitely be on the shelf of anyone interested in Georgian and Victorian jewellery, sentimental jewellery or European jewellery!

Lover’s Eyes. Eye miniatures from the Skier collection. Edited by Elle Sushan. Giles Art Books, 2021. 280 pages, full colour. In English

Available with the publisher and online stores such as Amazon.

The book was gifted as advance reading copy by the publisher

More on the symbolism of eyes in jewellery is in the e-course on Amulets, Charms and Jewellery: see more here!

Find dozens of other book titles on adornment to explore here.

A free e-book on amulets in jewellery is ready for you here: enjoy!

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Sigrid van Roode

Magic of Amber

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Magic & Amulets

Magic of amber

amber throughout history

Amber Amulets

Updated Jan 17, 2024

One of the most used components in jewellery from North Africa and Southwest Asia is amber. This fossilized resin has been popular as adornment since prehistoric times, and has been attributed with a variety of magical capacities throughout millennia. What is the significance of amber? Let’s explore how amber has been the go-to substance in a surprisingly large field of problems!

The power of amber: the Roman period

Amber was already highly valued by the Romans, who attributed a great deal of capacities to this material. It was thought to help against throat diseases, to alleviate fever, solve ear aches and problems with sight, and cure stomach pains and problems in the urinary trajectory. [1]

Notably, amber was believed to be specifically effective for women and children; when a woman dreamt of amber ringer rings, this was considered a beneficial omen. [2]

Its scent may also have played a role in its magical powers: rubbing an amber object firmly produces a resinous fragrance. Evidence of amber dice that have been rubbed vigorously in the past may show that gamers sought to influence their throw by activating the magical powers of amber [3], although, as we shall see, I think its static capacity may also have helped to attract winners’ luck.

The fragrance of amber may also be the reason why it was sometimes burned in ritual settings: archaeology only recovers the remains, but it may have been its smell that was the key behind this practice.

Amber in medieval amulets

Amber continued to be much appreciated in the Middle Ages. What people in Europe thought of its powers only becomes clear in the 13th century, when it is listed in a book on the healing capacities of stones as excellent remedy against stomach ache. [4]

A piece of amber was to be put in wine, beer or water and left to sit there for some time, after which you would take it out and drink the fluid – this method of transferring the magical capacity of a substance to a fluid that can be consumed has existed for millennia.

The use of amber against urinary problems was also still very much alive in the Middle Ages: imbuing milk with amber as described above would lighten your load. Here again, the magic works following the lines of analogy, this time because of its yellow hues.

A glorious Draa Valley amber and coral necklace with colourful woollen tassels

Amber in amulets from the Middle East

In Arabic, amber is called kahramān. Here another magical use reveals itself: the name is related to kahrabah, meaning electricity. When real amber is rubbed, it becomes slightly static. This makes it an excellent substance to attract the love of a husband, as the Bedouin in Palestine believed. [5]

And who knows, maybe the amber carving of Amor, the god of love, from the Roman period served the same purpose…?

Amber also is very powerful against the evil eye in general. The combination of its fragrance (as was already the case with the Romans) and its quality to keep evil at a distance makes it a highly valued prayer bead: these are also held, rubbed and passed through the fingers many times. [6]

Amber in amulets from North Africa

Like in many other parts of the world, amber is used to dispel teething pains. [7] In a way of analogous magic similar to that of earlier periods and cultures, it is considered a warming and invigorating substance. This is why the Amazigh also consider it very useful against rheuma and respiratory inflictions, as well as against skin diseases.

Additionally, to the Amazigh amber represents the warmth of the sun, and as such forms a natural pair with silver elements that invoke the power of the moon. As amber was so highly valued for its beneficial properties as well as visual expression of wealth, amber beads were often strung with small felt pieces in between to keep the beads from damaging. [8]

The long history of amber as an amulet

So what you see, is that the qualities of amber occur in more or less similar forms time and again. It was believed to be useful against ear aches in both ancient Rome and modern Egypt, it works its magic against stomach aches and respiratory problems from the Maghreb to the Levant, and has helped babies through their teething pains since the Middle Ages. Amber has captivated the human imagination since forever!

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What other materials were used in amulets?

Want to see more? Check out the video page, where I’m showing a stunning necklace from Morocco with absolutely gorgeous amber beads!

Find out more about the magic of materials in the e-course on Amulets and Magic in Jewellery!

There is a free e-book on amulets in jewellery ready for you here…discover how they work!

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References

[1] Koster, A. 2013. The Cemetery of Noviomagus, p. 174

[2] Davis, G. 2018. Rubbing and Rolling, Burning and Burying: The Magical Use of Amber in Roman London, in: Parker, A. & S. McKie 2018. Material Approaches to Roman Magic. Occult Objects and Supernatural Substances. Oxbow Books, Oxford, p. 71

[3] Idem, p. 75

[4] Hildegard von Bingen, Heilsame Schöpfung, übersetzt und eingeleitet von Ortrun Riha, Beuroner Kunstverlag 2016, p. 278

[5] Biasio, E. 1998. Beduinen im Negev, Zürich, p. 221

[6] Idem, p. 221-222

[7] Draguet, M. 2021. Berber Memories, p. 350

[8] Berber Women of Morocco, Fondation Pierre Bergé/Yves Saint Laurent 2014, p. 73

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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.

Early Photography Portraits

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Opinion

an unreliable source

Early photography portraits of the Middle East

Updated Jan 11, 2024

Don’t you just love those old photos of women wearing jewellery? Many collectors search for these and use them to get an idea of how jewellery was worn. But there are some serious considerations to take into account with these photos: you can’t take them at face value.

Staged studio photographs

The thing with old portraits is that in almost all cases they have been staged. Early photographic equipment was heavy and cumbersome: you couldn’t snap a candid picture like we are used to nowadays, the subject had to stay really still.

Buildings and landscapes are better at that than people, so these form a large part of early photos.⁠ For people, photographers would have their own studio and their own props, and they could create photographs of people dressed in just about anything that they believed would sell.

And that is an important aspect of early photography: the point of view from which these photos were taken.

Early photography: creating the ‘Orient’

Early photography very often served to create an image of ‘the Orient’ to send back home. Of course, this new art was also used in documentation like for example of archaeological sites and monuments, but documenting more often than not switched to creating when contemporary life was photographed.

What was photographed had to fit into a specific framework: idyllic scenes in the countryside ‘like it had been in Biblical times’, and studio photography of men and women at their most ‘Oriental’. This included strangely misplaced clothing and sometimes complete nudity, as well as unnatural poses.⁠ Life as it actually happened was rarely photographed.⁠

Old photographs therefore are not neutral sources of information: we always need to be aware of the intent with and purpose for which they were taken. The photograph shown above was taken by Jean Besancenot in Morocco, and is more reliable than for example images from photo studios operating in the main cities.

Constructing the Orient: modern media

But is that misrepresentation a thing of the past? Sadly, no. In this digital age, photographs circulate faster and wider than ever before.

Social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are picture-based entirely and a quick search will get you dozens of image results. The context that goes with these however often does not come along, and as a consequence misinformation and misrepresentations are repeated again and again. It’s why I started this blog, as I wrote about here.

With the availability of photography for virtually everyone, paired with the slow disappearance of traditional dress and adornment, we enter a new era of constructed images.

Again, mashups of dress and adornment are created, photographed and circulated widely with just one click of a mouse. The photo shown above is an example for such a mashup: the headdress and face veil are not worn together like this, as they belong to two different social groups.

How to observe early portrait photos from the Middle East

Here are three points to consider when looking at old photographs of women wearing jewellery.

First of all, don’t take them at face value immediately but have a close look at what you actually see. Is it a studio photograph? Is the photographed person (semi-) nude? Is the photo part of a series, recognizable by captions like ‘scènes & types’? These are all indicators for posed and constructed photography. Postcards in particular are notoriously posed and in some cases a far cry from reality.

A second point is to look for other work by the same photographer: there is a difference between the well-known photo studios in large towns, and photographers associated with for example archaeological or military expeditions.Who was the photographer? What else did he (it was almost always a he, see for a remarkable exception this blog) photograph?

Thirdly, see what information, if any, you can dig up about the photograph itself. Especially with photographs found online, see what information comes with it: not every ‘Bedouin bride’ or ‘Woman in traditional clothing’ is identified accurately. As mislabeled info is often copied many times over (see more about that here), this may take some searching, but using the search feature for comparable images it may in some cases be possible to find a source with more information.

Taking the time to form an opinion about the trustworthiness of a photograph as visual source will help you gain a better understanding of the jewellery and dress you’re researching.

Early portrait photos and jewellery: what we can learn

Is there anything we can learn with certainty from early portrait photographs, regarding jewellery? Well, yes: we can observe which jewellery items were in existence at the time of photographing.

Even if they are props and used randomly (you’d be surprised to see how many necklaces ended up as headdresses, just because it looks so exotic), logic dictates they were available when the picture was taken.

This provides us with a timeframe: ‘this type of jewel existed as early as…’, and to some extent an idea of clothing. These pieces of information can then be used again to contribute to the actual story of the photographed people as they really were, instead of how the photographer invented them to be.⁠

And that’s the story jewellery research aims to bring back to life!

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References

I have written this blog post from a perspective of photography as resource for jewellery studies and not as a discussion of early photography itself. This field is widely explored by scholars from a variety of angles. Here are a few starting points:

The essays in the Postcard Women’s Imaginarium are a very important contribution by contemporary artists and scholars to the interpretation of Orientalist postcards.

Tied in to the inventing and constructing of photographs is the power balance between the (foreign) photographer and the photographed. The Civil Contract of Photography by Ariella Azoulay explores these ethical aspects in depth. The video A Snapshot of Empire: the racist legacy of colonial postcards shows how these pre-staged photographs continue to influence our view today: watching these 8 minutes is highly recommended!

Local photography is discussed in Ritter and Scheiwiller (eds), The Indigenous Lens? Early Photography in the Near and Middle East (Berlin 2018), of which the introductory chapter can be read here.

A selection of sources for historical photographs of the Middle East can be found here and here.

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Sigrid van Roode

Splendor and Shine

by dr. Sigrid van Roode | Reviews

Splendour and Shine

jewellery in the life course

jewellery and the life course

Splendour and Shine

Jewellery is an important part of transitions in life, such as marriage, and wearing certain items of jewellery is closely related to various stages in life. This is the key principle in the exhibition Splendor and Shine in the River of Time, held in the Liechtensteinisches Landesmuseum in 2020, and its accompanying publication. I have not been able to visit the exhibition, but the book is a veritable treat. What makes it especially interesting is the range of traditional jewellery from a wide geographical area: the basis is formed by European dress, enhanced by many jewellery items from the Arab world and Central Asia (and to a lesser extent Africa and Oceania) for comparison.

This comparison is not just for show or aesthetic reasons only. In the first chapter, the author outlines several issues regarding the study of traditional dress and adornment, which provide a solid setting for the rest of the book. She points out for example that the study of personal adornment and dress is potentially layered with projection, as no information or documentation from the original wearers’ perspective exists, and addresses how approaching traditional dress from a colonial perspective obscures the result of migratory movements, cultural contacts and subsequent style exchanges. Reading this first chapter calls our attention to the many aspects, potential pitfalls but also possibilities of the study of traditional dress and jewellery, and this critical eye really is an asset to the book.

The book starts out with an exploration of traditional dress in Liechtenstein itself, followed by a chapter on headgear: crowns, bonnets, combs, pins, all beautifully illustrated. Several examples from outside Europe serve to widen the perspective on the reasons for wearing head decoration. The next chapter on a supra-regional classification explores principles, colours, cultural exchange and techniques used in European traditional jewellery, which I found to be very enlightening. The chapter on amulets combines jewellery from various areas in the world to illustrate the need to protect young life: from babies to young adolescents. The wish for fertility and healthy children is explored worldwide and makes for interesting similarities and differences. The same exploration is carried out in the chapter on belts: once a clear symbol of status, their function has now changed as a result of changing fashion.

The meaning of jewellery in the various stages of life is discussed in the chapter on regional festive jewellery, again with supportive examples from elsewhere in the world. This theme continues in the chapter on ethnic jewellery in Europe, Asia and Africa, followed by a chapter on amulets and beliefs during the course of life. Next is a chapter on mourning jewellery and jewellery as protection against death, followed by the final, extensive chapter on regional dress in Europe. Here, not only history and the jewellery and dress themselves are presented, but also their survival, reinterpretations and changing meaning. In between the chapters short excursions are placed, for example on the restoration of a filigree apron closure, or a letter to ancestors on hair flowers (in German only), which add another personal perspective on traditional dress. The book ends with notes and literature for each chapter.

Throughout the book, emphasis is placed on cultural exchange and changing styles, as well as on the perspectives offered on traditional jewellery. The texts are not only very informative on large and small aspects of particular jewellery, but also on the study of jewellery itself. One example is how the author remarks that the discourse on non-European jewellery is strongly Eurocentric, and only a few interpretations from within the cultures themselves exist (p. 127). That is certainly true for most large collections, which have indeed been both collected and published by European and American collectors and authors. The statement made me wonder however if this Eurocentric view is not also furthered by the fact that Westerners fail to notice publications within the cultures themselves: because of language barriers and/or their availability, for example. I do know of several publications by authors within the Arab world that are impossible to obtain in any other way than traveling to the country itself and picking up a copy there. Being aware of what else is out there besides readily available publications certainly is a main point of improvement, and to me, having this and other discrepancies pointed out in this book significantly adds to its value.

This book has much to offer: not only do the many, many photographs of jewellery and dress items (and there are hundreds of individual items to admire!) make for hours of visual pleasure, but the well-researched text has a very high density of information. I have learned a great deal while reading it, which is hardly surprising as I know woefully little about European jewellery and adornment, and I enjoyed the critical view of the author on how traditional jewellery is perceived, treated and studied. You will love this addition to your bookshelf!

Splendor and Shine in the River of Time. Traditional jewelry and costumes throughout the life course, by Irene Steiner. 194 pages, full-colour, bilingual German/English. Available through the webshop of the museum.

The book was a much loved gift from Sarah Corbett.

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