Jewellery and the senses: sight
Sensory research
Jewellery and the senses: sight
Published on August 02, 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 first article, we’ll look at sight.
Jewellery and sight: a very human aspect
Sight might be the most obvious sense. Jewellery, after all, is literally made to be seen. And that is one of the most exciting things I can think of: did you know that jewellery is the first thing ever made by humans, that is not immediately practical, like a tool?
The earliest form of adornment known to date (they keep getting unearthed, so this may change in the future) is a set of shell beads found in Bizmoune Cave, in what today is Morocco. [1] Some 142,000 years ago, some created a necklace of shells here. Just think of what that means: this early human knew how to make an impression. They were aware of their own self, and they knew how to manipulate the impression they made on others.
Wearing jewellery helps to regulate social interaction, and apparently, we have been doing that for a very long time.
Jewellery and sight: social information
Fast-forward from the distant past to our timeframe. The Maasai of East Africa use beaded jewellery to signify age, marital status, and social roles. [2] Each colour and pattern has a specific meaning, creating a visual language that communicates complex social information at a glance – if you know how to read them, of course.
And that goes for almost all jewellery. The tizerzai or clothing pins from the Maghreb communicate tribal affiliation as well as geographic location: the decoration on pins in one village may be every so slightly different from those in the next village, the amount of jewellery someone wears, has a lot to say about their wealth, and specific symbols may be used to indicate which religion they adhere. It’s all meant to be seen.
Serving as visual communicator is an important capacity of jewellery, and one that directly involves others: the wearer, and the persons around them. ‘I wear this jewellery so you can see who I am’.
Jewellery and sight: showing complex knowledge
And sometimes, there is even serious knowledge hidden in plain sight! The most spectacular example I can think of, comes from the Bronze Age in Europe. It’s a huge, pointy hat (very Harry Potter-style) made entirely of thinly hammered sheet gold. It is decorated with regularly spaced bands and repeating patterns. A curious headdress, you might say, and leave it at that. Until someone started looking at these in earnest. The ‘decoration’ turned out to be a calendar – and not just any calendar, but an intricate system that combines lunar and solar calendars. [3]
Jewellery and sight: a visual language
Apart from communicating identity or displaying knowledge, there is more to seeing jewellery. It can also convey intent, or subtle messages the wearer does not want to say out loud. And jewellery can be designed to frighten both people and evil spirits.
In real life, war adornment combined with body paint is often intended to put fear into the hearts of adversaries on the battle field, such as in Papua New Guinea. For invisible presences, those bright colours, intricate designs, and even the reflective qualities of metals catch the attention, and avert that attention away: the basic principle behind the Evil Eye.
Is evil eye jewellery good or bad? Find out in this blog!
An example from Siwa Oasis, in Egypt, is when a woman would wear her head jewellery just slightly differently: it told her mother-in-law that not all was well in the marriage. [4] Here again, you’d have to know these subtle codes to understand them: ‘I wear my jewellery so you can see what I want or need’.
Jewellery and sight: the perspective of the viewer
This aspect of sight is also in play when it comes to the size of jewels, or their placement on the body. Large jewellery can be seen from a distance, but to see their decoration, you’d have to be closer to the wearer. When it comes to warding off evil, jewellery can be active over several distances. The shimmering and movement of jewellery can be seen from afar, and when any evil forces should be closer, the intricate decoration patterns as well as protective texts are powerful barriers, too.
And that is not just for invisible powers: the distance of sight also works wonders for the age-old practice of keeping up appearances. On first glance, a person might be seen wearing a fortune in coin jewellery; only upon closer inspection, they may turn out to be imitations.
Jewellery and sight: hiding from view
On the other side of seeing is invisibility. Some jewels, or other forms of personal aesthetic such as tattoos, are not meant to be seen by all and sundry. They are deliberately hidden from view, worn underneath clothing or, in the case of jewellery, decorated on the reverse side – the side only known to the person wearing it.
See an example with a hidden image from Oman here.
Jewellery and sight: aesthetics are not to be overlooked
As you see, the visual impact of jewellery is huge: it conveys status, identity, and cultural affiliation. It also depends on the distance between you and the viewer what the latter will see: a given you can make deliberate use of. And there is that which you want to keep private: playing with visibility and invisibility is one of the most powerful capacities of jewellery.
And that is also where research comes in: you’d have to realise you may be looking at visual codes, instead of just a pretty colour combination or lovely pattern, to fully understand the social and cultural context of the jewellery. Aesthetics are not simply decorative, but are deeply tied to the identities and traditions of the wearers. They tell us how these pieces function within their communities.
In the next installment on the sensory dimensions of jewellery, we’ll be looking at touch!
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References
[1] Sehasseh et. al. 2021, Early Middle Stone Age personal ornaments from Bizmoune Cave, Essaouira, Morocco, in: Science Advances vol. 7 no. 39. Read it here
[3] Menghin, W. 201. Der Berliner Goldhut. Macht, Magie und Mathemathik in der Bronzezeit. Schnell-Steiner
[4] M.M. Vale 2015. Siwa: Jewelry, Costume, and Life in an Egyptian Oasis. AUC Press, Cairo
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.