Modern India

 

India(Contemporary)

Mangalsutra necklace

This sacred necklace is usually made out of a thread, small black beads with a locket. The pendant is made out of gold and diamonds. 

According to Hindu culture, mangalsutra is worn by women. The necklace is a part of a wedding ceremony in India. Wearing a mangalsutra signifies a certain rank, which means if she is wearing this necklace it simple shows her marital status. It is believed that a women should wear this piece throughout her life as long as they are married(Accessed 18 September 2023.para 3).   

Modern Navajo

 

Zulu(Contemporary)

Umgexo Zulu love letter

Umgexo is made out of beads and nylon string.  As someone who has worked with beads before I would say this is brick stitch. Hence there are beads overlapping on both sides. 

Traditionally in a Zulu culture, if someone is wearing a beaded piece it mostly indicates a certain status. For example, in the above image the necklace in the middle indicates marital status. Nonetheless, if a Zulu women is wearing a diamond shape formed of two beaded triangles it shows that she is married. Also when the two tips of the triangles meet in the middle, it means a married man. 

Modern Xhosa

 

Xhosa(Contemporary)

Beaded collar iNgqhosha

This collar is made out of glass beads and a mother-of-pearl button. The pearl serves as a clasp. The beads are threaded and woven together to form a flat, semi-circular beaded collar. 

Among the Xhosa culture, there is a specific necklace that indicates one's social status which is called iNgqhosha. A similar beaded collar(iNgqhosha) was worn by the late former South African president ''Nelson Mandela'', which somehow conveyed his royal status. To mark the social rank of an individual in society was based on the use of patterns and colors of beads.  However, this necklace is worn by both men and women in isiXhosa culture.  

Ancient Ndebele

 

Ndebele(Historical)

iJogolo apron

To manufacture this garment you must have materials like plain leather, canvas, glass beads and thread. Dr Christa Clark said, "The newly married Ndebele woman embroidered that apron, creating bold geometric designs with imported glass beads"(Accessed 17 September 2023). 

The use of different colours with beads on this apron can mean a status . This iJogolo is worn by women from amaNdebele culture. Within the culture this garment serves as a marital status for women. On ceremonial occasions, she would wear iJogolo to signify her marriage. 

Ancient Turkmen

 

Turkmen Historical

 

Sinsile headdress Crown

This crown is made out of various materials such as silver, silver shot, table-cut carnelians, turquoise beads, and gilded chains. In my point of view, the technique that was used in this headpiece for the carnelians is a rub-over setting and how the loop-in-loop is soldered on the crown to hold the dangling chains with teardrop-shape pendants. From ancient times jewellery made by Turkmen craftsmen was mostly handmade. 

According to art historian Layla Diba, ''Jewellery was used as a way to establish one's rank in Turkmen society''. In this case, the Sinsile piece was worn by young girls in daily life to indicate their marital status. Perhaps this specific headdress is for unmarried women of Turkmen culture. 

Ancient Egyptian

 

Egypt(Historical)

 

Miniature Broad Collar

The broad collar is semi-circular and it belongs to the “broad collar” family.  According to Chi Yan Joanne Pang, the entire collar is plated or made out of gold, with a total of six bands of stones and decorations, leading up to a lotus flower that leads to the hooks of the collar’s necklace. 

Starting from the outermost band, there is a series of droplet beads on the necklace, with their outlines forged in gold or soldered sheets. The insides of the droplets are filled with turquoise, while lapis lazuli was used to fill in the triangular gaps between each teardrop.

The next band consists of a series of lotus flowers, also lined in gold, bearing a design similar to the lotus flower at the end of the bands. Each flower has five petals, with the outer ones filled with lapis lazuli and the inner petals with turquoise. They alternate with golden lotus buds. The spaces between all the lotuses are filled with carnelian.

The third band is composed of gold-lined turquoise rosettes, each with a golden center. Lapis lazuli was used to fill in the gaps between the rosettes. The fourth row is made up of gold-lined papyri filled with turquoise and lapis lazuli. There is no definitive pattern as to where these two are placed within the papyrus. They also alternate with small golden buds, and the gaps are filled with carnelian. The fifth row is composed of turquoise triangles lined with gold. Between the gaps of the large triangles are two smaller lapis lazuli triangles fitted in the center, forming a rhombus, separated by a band of turquoise. The gaps at the base are filled with turquoise. The sixth and final row is composed of gold-lined, turquoise lilies with a gold base, alternating with a golden lily bud. The gaps are filled with alternating lapis lazuli and carnelians. However in the ancient Egypt, the collar depiction was for Egyptian pharaohs. 

Ancient Romen

Ancient Rome

Roman ring

 

The materials used to make this ring are gold and bloodstone. The most common type of signet ring during this period had a motif engraved onto a gemstone. On the left, the ring depicts Hermes, and on the right the figure of Mars. Most male fingerrings had a specific function. These were signet rings used as a form of royal mark by higher-ranking officials. It was easy to identify the status of an individual who was wearing a specific ring. The engraved gem would be pressed into wax, impressing the shape of the image carved into its surface. Rings were worn as a mark of your identity and status.