Authentic Ancient Gold Rings - History

Gold Rings and Jewellery.

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The aurifex or goldsmith would have been an honoured craftsman. In actual fact, in early Rome the wearing of finger rings and other items of gold, as well as the burial of gold rings and articles, was legally restricted, but during the period of the empire customs relaxed and jewellery was lavishly worn. As the empire expanded (AD200-400) Roman techniques and styles developed.

The inhabitants of Ireland have been prospecting for gold in rivers since the Bronze Age. The Minoan Culture grew rich as a trading stop along Mediterranean trade routes and as a result, its jewelry making flourished. The Minoans began producing exceptional stamped gold sheeting and filigree and granulated Gold jewelry, burial masks and beads by 2000 BC, which spread to Mycenaean Islands and other Greek Islands and eventually on to the mainland. These techniques of filigree and granulation show up in Etruscan art, which saw elevated heights of beauty and technical skill as a contrast to the time of the emergence of Greek culture, when Gold use was rare.

When Roman civilization began to flourish, the city began to attract talented Gold artisans who created gold-framed cameos, necklaces, pendants, bracelets, headdresses and earrings. Roman gold jewelry included rings that only those citizens of the higher classes could wear but the wearing of gold rings later included lower classes of warriors until finally, by the 3rd century AD, anyone other than the very lowest could wear a gold ring. Historians credit Roman Culture with the advent of the ring used as a symbol of engagement.

gold jewelry The use of Gold in Rome grew beyond its use as jewelry and expanded into household items and furniture in the homes of the higher classes. By the third century AD, the citizens of Rome wore necklaces that contained Coins with the image of the emperor. As Christianity spread through the continent, Europeans ceased burying their dead with their jewelry and thus, few examples survive from the Middle Ages, except those of royalty and from church hordes. Modern historians gather information about the jewelry of the middle ages from artwork and literature that began to develop during this time.

Among cultures of the Middle Ages, the Celts produced intricate Brooches while nearly every other region produced gold religious items. By the Renaissance, Classicism began to dictate the production of all art forms, and resulted in a rebirth in jewelry as an art form, in fact historians say artists such as Boticelli were apprentices in Goldsmith shops. In the height of the Renaissance period, the houses of royalty competed to accumulate larger collections of jewelry, which eventually slowed only to increase again by the reign of Louis XIV in the 17th Century.

Renaissance designs would influence most of the jewelry styles of Europe until the classic revival period of the 19th century. In the next Century, cameos began to resurface in the Roman tradition with a Gold frames as well as the chatelaine, an embossed gold pendant. Lavalieres, small lockets made of gold and named for Louis XIV's mistress from the previous century were also popular. In the 19th century, the Industrial revolution led to increased mining through lower costs and the symbol of gold as an indicator of class disappeared. Berlin Iron jewelry pieces were iron replicas given to Germans, who had turned in their Gold to help pay for the war with Napolean.

Gold Sassanian Rings.

gold ring The Sassanids established an empire roughly within the frontiers achieved by the Achaemenids, with the capital at Ctesiphon. The Sassanids consciously sought to resuscitate Iranian traditions and to obliterate Greek cultural influence. Their rule was characterized by considerable centralization, ambitious urban planning, agricultural development, and technological improvements. Sassanid rulers adopted the title of shahanshah (king of kings), as sovereigns over numerous petty rulers, known as shahrdars. Historians believe that society was divided into four classes: the priests, warriors, secretaries, and commoners. The royal princes, petty rulers, great landlords, and priests together constituted a privileged stratum, and the social system appears to have been fairly rigid.

Jewellery History