As you know, Egypt is a country that has existed for a long time in the world, with mysterious stories about ancient tombs and giant pyramids that always appear in exploration movies. And it is a country with a long history and many interesting things for us to learn and explore.
If scientists have learned too much about the mysteries of the pyramids and Egyptian kings, there is one thing that we do not pay attention to but is also very interesting: ancient Egyptian jewelry fashion. .
1. Ancient Egyptian jewelry
Since 5,000 years ago, ancient Egyptians knew how to beautify themselves with jewelry. They wore ancient Egyptian jewelry largely because they believed that wearing jewelry would help people stay younger, age longer, and be blessed by the gods.
For the deceased, jewelry helps them go to the other world safely and gently, to be reincarnated with a new form and status better than this life, etc. That’s why from poor to rich. , from young to old, everyone uses jewelry.
Kings wore teeth, animal bones, seashells, etc. All were strung together to make necklaces, bracelets, rings, bracelets, anklets, hairpins, etc. And to this day they are the prototypes. of the world.
Ancient Egyptian jewelry is considered a major turning point, bearing many similarities to today, although at that time more than 5,000 years ago, the crafting techniques of the craftsmen of that day were extremely unique. professional. The craftsman uses his own hands to create jewelry with different designs and patterns on the jewelry model.
Ancient Egyptian jewelry mainly acted as a talisman. According to the ancient Egyptians at that time, jewelry made of gold and precious stones was automatically superior to all other materials. . There are many types of gemstones that are considered rare and popular today but were not used at that time because they had not discovered their rare properties.
So in ancient Egypt, everyone believed that owning a precious stone would carry great, magical power. Every ancient Egyptian used to wear some jewelry from childhood until death. Also because of the notion that jewelry will bring them magic power, spiritual energy, ward off demons and bring luck, happiness and wealth, they wear jewelry for such a long time.
After more than 5,000 years of jewelry being discovered, we modern people call them jewelry, but in Egyptian times they considered those ancient Egyptian jewelry as a talisman rather than a decorative jewelry. beautify. In particular, at that time gold was ranked behind silver because at that time there was more gold than silver and silver was harder to find. Besides, they also had a lot of jade, then glass was the scarcest thing.
Jewelry as mentioned above, gemstones will be the rarest materials to make into a piece of jewelry, stones such as: Turquoise, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Quartz, Carnelian stone,… All of the rarest gemstones are often crafted into exclusive royal jewelry.
The most popular items of the kings at that time were necklaces and bracelets, as evidenced by archaeologists finding gold necklaces engraved with all shapes, on each necklace and bracelet. made of gold, sometimes also studded with all kinds of precious stones or small beads made from gold or precious stones, with a belt around the neck shaped like a bird’s feathers, because the Egyptians worshiped the bird god.
2. Beauty in ancient Egypt
Makeup has also been applied since this era, regardless of whether men or women of all classes in ancient Egyptian society used makeup to enhance their appearance, for example: Fragrance oils , perfume, face makeup.
The business class also uses it the same way, but they will have better products than the general market. The Egyptians also had the habit of applying eyeliner. The pen they used to apply eyeliner was often made from wood, ivory or stone to apply powder to the eyelids, highlighting the size and shape of the eyes.
Women in the Egyptian period also knew how to use lipstick prepared mainly from ocher, or prepared from seaweed, iodine and Bromine mannite compound. There are documents saying that Queen Cleopatra VII made her own lipstick. themselves from crushed ants and beetles.
Fashion accessories have appeared very early, represented by wigs, they are also an important part of the traditional costumes of ancient Egypt, they used wigs and jewelry as a way to attract the blessing of the gods, as well as to show off one’s wealth.
Not only to express their beliefs, but wigs are used as a tool to keep the scalp clean, avoid lice, and are used regularly to help keep the body cooler on hot days.
In addition to necklaces and bracelets, the nobility also used chest shields, like a necklace with a large face, the craftsmen would engrave on them motifs and patterns depending on the object of use. Sometimes it’s vultures, falcons, cobras, sometimes it’s insects like scarab beetles, and sometimes it’s plants like bougainvillea,… Symbols of the king and authority in the land of the Nile River.
According to recorded images, to increase the majesty and splendor. Both men and women wear bracelets on their wrists and biceps with extremely rich patterns engraved on the jewelry, such as that of Cleopatra.
She is described as always having golden hairbands under her braids, on her head she wears a hat with a mouth shaped like a spreading eagle, while Queen Neferiti wears a cylindrical hat with a snake. wrapped around, implying the encircling of the Nile River.
Regarding the colors of ancient Egyptian jewelry, most of the jewelry was blue and yellow to symbolize gods, sun gods, and nobility, so these were the colors often used for Egyptian jewelry. king, and white blood is often used in offerings.
Merchants will have red for men to represent masculinity, toughness and strength, while navy blue and jade will belong to women to symbolize female gentleness and sweetness. Childhood, the color of life, revival.
