ancient jewelry
Heirloom decorative pieces
Jewelry from antiquity—ornaments, adornments, and decorative items crafted by early civilizations.
Ancient jewelry encompasses pieces from Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Celtic, and other early cultures, typically made from gold, silver, bronze, and precious stones using techniques like granulation and filigree.
The term covers both archaeological artifacts and their modern reproductions: The museum's ancient jewelry collection includes Sumerian gold earrings.
Collectors and dealers distinguish authentic ancient jewelry from antique jewelry, which refers to pieces merely over a century old.
- gemstonesPolished ornamental minerals
- precious metalsRare, valuable metallic elements
- earringsJewelry worn on lobes
- goldElement seventy-nine
- EgyptianRelating to the pharaohs' land
silver · bracelets · diadems · filigree · granulation · lost wax · bronze · Indus Valley · trade routes · electrum · necklaces · status · scarabs · royal tomb · intaglio · fibula · Byzantine · Roman
- prehistorystone tools, Neolithic, Stone Age, caveman, cavemen
- ancient craftspottery, mosaics, weaving, carpentry, blacksmithing
- museum thingsart, paintings, sculptures, statues, fossils
- antiquitiesamphorae, bronze swords, bronze tools, antiquities, grave goods
- ancient artsculpture, sculptures, pottery, mosaics, murals
- Gem HistoryHope Diamond, Koh-i-Noor, Crown Jewels, Chinese jade