Ornaments adorned people in the past

By Amal Hewavissenti

Ornaments that people wear comprise rings, necklaces, bracelets and other ornate objects and are sometimes decorated with precious stones. The history of ornaments runs far back into the emergence of the first man on earth and archaeological findings have revealed that man used to wear ornaments even before he invented clothes. The first man must have worn necklaces made of animal bones, teeth or wood.

Man respected and adored the power of beauty possessed by ornate objects from the earliest times because he perceived the degree of elegance and glamour that ornaments add to human body. The attractive objects crafted out of gold, silver, pearl, ivory or precious stones embellished man from the earliest times. Moreover, certain ornaments specially jewellery are believed to have latent powers to safeguard the wearer against all influences of evil. The Sri Lankans have the practice of wearing "Panchaudha" or "Navarathna rings" believed to be powerful enough to dispel evil influences.

A small glass teapot-shaped ornament at the Egyptian museum

In whatever way, man displays a particular Penchant for wearing ornaments considering the aesthetic properties in them and the attractive appearance that ornaments add to human body. On the other hand, the more powerful minority neglected the aesthetic aspects of ornaments but wore the objects simply to off set their glory, majesty and overall reputation. This minority is and was the affluent and powerful elite who occupy a prestigious position in society in any country within any period.

Anthropologically most tribes and ethnic groups wear specific ornaments in their effort to preserve their unique traditions and practices.

How ornaments originated

How ornaments originated and came into widespread use among humans is a question. In the earliest stages of man, shells, bones teeth or varieties of stones became ornaments for him. Furthermore, the discovery of different metal supplanted the earlier practice of producing ornaments and ornaments became more developed and elaborate in what in generally called the golden era of manufacture of ornaments (5000 BC).

Archaeological excavations have unearthed a large number of ornaments worn by people of ancient civilisations. The graceful ornaments discovered inside the ancient Egyptian a pyramids greatly amazed the researches. The Egyptian ornaments such as funeral masks, crowns, necklaces, bracelets, rings and other elegant objects were all crafted out of gold and studded with precious stones. It is noteworthy that Pharaoh ornaments convey religious themes and contemporary beliefs.

The Egyptian craftsman appears to be well versed in the manufacture of gold ornaments and he displays special dexterity in carving, setting metal strips studding jewels, and minute carving in gold. The elaborate and elegant 'eagle crown' worn by queen Neffertti Cas illustrated in the fresco of her tomb) deserves a particular notice with regard to the Egyptian craftsman's skill in producing ornaments.

A large number of ornaments (probably crafted in 3000 BC) have been found in Mesopotamia and excavations in the city of UR - Southern Babylone have uncovered exclusive ornaments worn by queen Shub Add, Among the ornaments are golden crowns studded with precious stones, necklaces, earnings, bracelets and other objects made of solid gold.

A large number of earrings and rare bracelets have been discovered in what is popularly called "The treasure of King Priyam of the Kingdom of Troy" situated in Niyarlin of Turkey. Excavations in the island in Aegein Sea have unearthed unique ornaments which were largely worn for religious purposes, The ornaments belong to 1900 BC.

Some ornaments have been found in the tombs in cites such as Erethrea, Athens Illiusis in Greece. The objects are made of solid gold and are embellished with the figures of humans and animals and sometimes Greek gods, Interestingly, there is a reference in Plato's Last will, to gold earrings which were probably worn by young men of Greece. The Romans created their own gold ornaments but the Greek influence is visible in them.

The Romans created their own priceless ornaments using precious stones and diamonds and a person's status was determined in terms of the weight of the gold he wore. The Bukherst museum houses a rare collection of ornaments collected from the 'treasure of Petrossa' owned by Goths. These ornaments belong to the Medieval period and are prominent by didnt of the blend of traditional and semi barbarian characteristics.

Sri Lanka

The Sigiri frescoes shed much light on the ornaments possibly worn by Sri Lankan women during the firth century AD. The elegant head bands and headdresses represented to be worn by Sigiri damsels appear to have been exquisitely carved and thickly) set with red and blue jewels. They wear various kinds of earrings and necklaces. The "Thalipota", a special necklace made of gold thread sent through colourful beads signifies that the ladies were married.The Sigiri damsels wear another necklace called "Ashtika Malaya" that has become conspicuous solely by reason of its large pendent. Apart form that, they wear a large bracelet which in fact is made up of a number of smaller bracelets. Among the special objects being offered to the Dalada, are a number of ornaments.

The weight, value and names of those ornaments are recorded in a special book in the temple of the tooth.

Names of 64 ornaments are recorded in Dambadeni Asna but it is doubtful whether they were actually worn by Sinhala women at the time. The ornaments worn by men and women of the Kandyan period and European ornaments worn by Sri Lankan women are kept on display in the National Museum of Colombo and the National Museum of Kandy.

In ancient Sri Lanka, women decorated themselves with carved hairpins, head bands, flowers, pendants, earrings, and varieties of necklaces such as Pethi mala, Agasthi Mala, Gedi Mala, and Siribo Mala etc.

The men on the other hand, wore waist bands, Navarathna rings and various necklaces such as Gedi Mala and Deriyana Mala etc. Apart from that Sri Lankan men and women wore talismanic necklaces to ward off evil influences and to bring luck.

There was an exclusive set of ornate objects worn only by royalty. A picture of the Karnayali ring worn by queen Rangamaal (The queen of king Sri Wikrama Rajasinghe) is kept on display in the National Museum in Kandy.

During the 18th century, various ornaments of highest value, were made of gold, platinum, precious stones, diamonds and pearls.