Friday 12 March 2010

Cypriot Jewellery

One of the things that one notices in Cyprus, is how much the women love jewelry. Obviously, women everywhere love jewellery but Cypriot women really love it. With their warm colouring, they are also able to wear pretty much any kind of metal.

It therefore comes as no surprise to learn that there have been many unearthings of ancient jewellery in Cyprus.

Around 750-500 B.C. the most popular form Cypriot jewellery was spiral earings of solid metal, which were worn by both men and women. These spirals are found in varying sizes and metals, and some have elaborate ornaments.
The spirals rings tended to be made of bronze, silver or gold-plated bronze. The combination of bronze and gold in jewellery was a Cypriot speciality.

It is interesting that both men and women wore jewellery in Cyprus at this time.

Another popular style of jewelry at this time in Cyprus was these sort of strange elongated hoops.

During the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Cypriot jewellery lost its distinctiveness and is often mistaken for Greek and Roman jewellery. The increased levels of trading meant that more gemstones and pearls were incorporated into pieces. The levels of craftsmanship increased hugely and the number of different styles grew.

1 comment:

  1. An interesting article about Cypriot jewellery - especially the fact men and women wore those spiral ear-rings. I think they must have looked lovely! I found it hard to concentrate on your article, though, as my eyes kept shifting to those divine ear-rings on the right hand panel. I think I will be investigating etsy to look at this range of beautifully named ear-rings. Thanks for the article and the viewing of the ear-rings next to it!

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