If it were not for the ladies, all the jewelers on earth would be out of business. In fact the idea of taking a chunk of yellow metal and fashioning it into something that you could hang around your neck, put through your ears, attach to your garment, or put on your wrist or finger, would probably never have dawned on the male of the species. He would have probably used the stuff to make horse shoes, water buckets or belt buckles, if indeed the wearing of pants would ever have become necessary.
This Feminine fascination for things yellow and sparkly is not a new phenomenon. Take a look at this quote from the ancient scriptures and note that it was stated before Eve came on the scene." Now there was a river issuing out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it began to be parted and it became, as it were, four heads. 11 The first one's name is Pi'shon; it is the one encircling the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good. There also are the bdellium gum and the onyx stone." - Genesis 2:10-14
Most of us have heard of Mesopotamia, which means 'the land between the rivers' Somewhere in or near this ancient land, the first discovery of Gold was made and it must have been at the beginning of our history that the idea of creating jewelry by combining gold and gemstones, was conceived.
How appropriate! Perhaps Adam already had his workbench, jeweler's pliers, files and tools in production, ready to please his lady. Maybe that's a bit far fetched, but one thing is for sure. He had the gold and the gems.
Whether you believe in the Garden or Eden or not, its very strange that practically every nation on earth has some sort of legend associated with a paradise, a tree, some fruit, and eternal life. And the idea of combining gemstones [in this case onyx and bdellium gum-see below] with gold, has never gone out of fashion.
Take, for example, this quote from the book: Treasures from the Royal Tombs of Ur. Summarizing the tomb of Queen Puabi, discovered by Wooley, back in the 1920s Puabi. The words of Wooley accentuate the excitement that must have pervaded these pioneer archaeologists of the 20th century:
"In the largest of all the stone-built royal tombs, which had been entered by robbers and most thoroughly plundered, there remained only one corner of the last chamber to be cleared, and we had given up expectation of any 'finds' when suddenly a loose bit of shell inlay turned up, and the next minute the foreman's hand, carefully brushing away the earth, laid bare the corner of a mosaic in lapis lazuli and shell."
He uncovered some 600 burials, including a particularly rich tomb that yielded a gold reticule (similar to a woman's handbag) containing gold toilet implements and a dagger with a blade made of a gold-and-silver alloy called electrum, a handle of lapis lazuli, and an elaborate gold sheath
The queen's tomb included 23 sacrificed servants, a lyre with golden ornaments, and a fortune in vessels and jewelry made of gold, silver, and gems. gold, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and white paste. A gold band was wound several times around the queen's head and over it was placed a frontlet of lapis lazuli and carnelian beads supporting gold ring pendants.
This in turn was overlaid by a band of lapis lazuli cylindrical beads and pendant leaves fashioned from sheet gold, each with a carnelian bead at its tip. Another band of pendant leaves, different in form, comprised the next layer. These leaves were separated by gold rosettes with petals inlaid with lapis and white paste.
At the back of her head, Puabi wore a gold comb surmounted by rosettes. A pair of large double-lunate earrings were given added support by four spiral twists of gold wire set in locks of hair somewhere close to the ears.
Her upper body was covered by strands of beads made of precious metals and semiprecious stones that stretched from her shoulders to her belt. Ten rings decorated her fingers. A diadem or fillet made up of thousands of small lapis lazuli beads with gold pendants depicting plants and animals was apparently on a table near her head.
Two attendants were in the chamber with Puabi, one crouched near her head, the other at her feet. Various metal, stone and pottery vessels lay around the walls of the chamber, as well as a delightful solid gold drinking straw. "
If you take a look at this amazing array of ancient women's ornaments, what strikes you is that a lot of it would not look out of place on a modern woman and could appear in the pages of the latest copy of 'Vogue' along with other current designs, without raising an eyebrow.
Yes, nothing has changed. It started in Eden. Continued in Ur and stays with us to this day. Women just love gold and jewelery, and as a stone cutter and jewelery designer, I repeat the sentiment: 'Thank Goodness God Created Women."
Addendum: My research indicates that Ur, the birthplace of Abraham is the most ancient of all cities. Other discoveries in Iraq have yielded thousands of clay tablets which describe the every day life of people living 2000 years BC. Please do a Google search on this subject for more research on this fascinating period of human history.
Bdellium gum: This is a genus of small trees or bushes with a scrubby, spiny appearance and little foliage, growing in hot sunny places. When the bark is cut, a fragrant, resinous juice, or gum, oozes out. After the gum is removed from the tree it soon hardens, becomes wax like and transparent, and is similar to a pearl in appearance.
Onyx [meaning 'fingernail' in Greek]. There are many varieties of this stone but the original description by the Greeks indicated that the color was similar to the effects you get as you look at your fingernail.
Thank Goodness God created women! And a jeweler might ad: and gold, silver and precious stones as well!
Its amazing that, just like snowflakes, there are an endless array of jewelry designs! Click on http://www.opalmine.com to see gemstones such as you have never seen before. These ancient beauties have been released from the dirt of the Australian outback, captured by the skill of our online designer 'Brusacci' and placed skillfully in frames of gold and silver. Enjoy a visit to the Australian bush at the same time, and talk to the designer himself if you want some special jewelry suggestions.
Peter Brusaschi the author of the CD 'The ordinary Bloke's guide to opal' has been sponsoring the site http://www.opalmine.com with its opal encyclopedia and chat forum, for the past 10 years. Peter has been visiting the Australian outback for the past 50 years and is an expert on the subject of opals, and the Australian outback. [known by Australians as 'the bush']
By Peter Brusaschi
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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