Sumerians, The Old Jewellery Makers
The British archaeologist Sir Leonard Woolley had led an excavation at the Ur site of the ancient city of the same name. Ur was part of the Sumerian civilization, which is Iraq nowadays.
The discovery of royal tombs, especially the tomb of Queen Pu-abi, has revealed interesting facts about the history of gold, jewellery and jewellery making.
It is believed that the Sumerians were among the first people who crafted jewellery and started the jewellery design due to the various and interesting pieces of jewellery found in tombs such as earrings, different types of necklaces, bracelets, armlets, etc. Many people were buried wearing their jewellery, alongside the precious items buried with them.
The Sumerian jewellery was variant and for both genders. Apart from earrings, necklaces, bracelets and armlets, men wore pectoral ornaments and headbands connected in the back by the gold chain as a head-cloth fastener.
An interesting jewellery discovery is the cylinder seals for men engraved with precious stones. This was the first time that glyptography was introduced and used to create and design jewellery. It is the introduction to engraved rings, bracelets among other gemstone jewellery
As for the Sumerian women, their jewellery collection was much wider and more varied. They had a piece of every part of their body. They had gold headdresses made of sheet gold. They usually consist of gold leaves with beads of lapis lazuli and carnelian. These headdresses came in different shapes of foliage and flowers.
Sumerians women's most significant jewellery items include large crescent-shaped earrings, chokers, large necklaces, belts, dress pins, and rings.
The jewellery collection found in their tombs was of precious metals and stone. Gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and carnelian were major jewellery materials used during this era. Whether these items were mined in this region or exported from neighbouring regions such as Turkey, Iran, India, etc., suggests Sumerians' great interest in jewellery.
Their jewellery was carefully crafted, refined and created in a high-level skilled jewellery making. By looking at the Sumerian jewellery, we can tell that this civilization had great craftsmen and goldsmiths and was way more developed ahead of time than other civilizations of this era in terms of jewellery making.
Their jewellery makers used techniques like granulation and filigree, which made Sumerian jewellers the first to use them. Moreover, they crafted chains, beads and other jewellery items in alternate ways and different styles. The colour combination presented in all their jewellery shows their high creativity level. They had several methods and motives to create everlasting jewellery items that were unique at their time and still are to our day.
A passion, creativity and love for showing our best by adorning ourselves with the finest and most unique jewellery is a sole motivation to create unforgettable and unparalleled jewellery masterpieces that survive through time.
