| Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Design - 2 |
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Egyptians also used polychrome glass to work on their designs when it was too difficult to work with gemstones. Gemstones found in Egyptian ancient jewelry include carnelian, malachite, jasper, lapis lazuli, turquoise, and quartz. The color blue represented by the lapis lazuli meant royalty. Lapis lazuli was brought from Afghanistan. There were many jewelry pieces such as bracelets, earrings, pendants, elaborated headpieces, brooches, clasps, and many other carefully designed pieces. Chest pieces were called pectorals; they were of intricate design and meant to accompany the death to another life. The designs represented their gods. Other designs include the ankh symbol, also known as the Egyptian key of life, or Egyptian cross, which looks like a cross with a loop on top. It symbolizes life, and was a common symbol. Turquoise was very popular and it signified life and joy as well. Jasper was also commonly used and symbolized the red of Isis, one of their deities, and symbolized fire. Turquoise, unlike Jasper, was easy to work with for their carvings. Malachite necklaces were worn to protect the wearer from epidemics. Carnelian symbolized the blood of life. Other gemstones included amazonite, emerald, and amethyst. The metal by choice was gold and it represented the skin of gods. David Laurent Guffroy is an e-commerce and domaining expert. He is currently the founder and managing director of body piercings, an online piercing and jewelry store. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_Laurent_Guffroy |