A snake gold set, a pair of gold bee earrings, or an owl pendant can never be missed when perusing an internet jewelry store or going to a gold shop.
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Beautiful jewelry designs with animal themes take up a lot of room in practically any gold or even accessories store in the globe.
Ever ponder why?
We must go more into this topic in order to be able to respond to your inquiry. Let’s explore when the jewelry with animal inspiration was created.
The Fascinating Background of Animal Images in Jewelry
If you are a jewelry enthusiast, you may already be aware that jewelry has existed from the beginning of human history. from people have had a close relationship with the natural world from the beginning of time, animals have been a part of practically every aspect of human existence. Back then, wearing an animal symbolised a person’s social status, character attributes, and a host of other things.
Even before they discovered how to produce clothing, people adorned their bodies with animal skins, feathers, leather, bones, teeth, and shells.
Humanity began to create more artistic jewelry as they figured out how to bend and mold animal parts to create unique patterns.
The important leap was discovered during the Sumerian era. The earliest goldsmiths were the Sumerians, who produced exquisite jewelry. Animal figures constituted the majority of their well-known and significant jewelry creations.
Like the majority of ancient societies, the Sumerians held the view that animals are the ideal defenders and guardians for the deceased on their passage to the hereafter because of their wildness, strength, mystique, and beauty.
Interesting jewelry pieces have been found since the tomb of the Sumerian queen Pu-Abi was discovered. The two jewels depicting two sitting gazelles and three gold fish amulets adorned with lapis lazuli were the most intriguing gems.
Egyptians in antiquity were not much different. The amazing finding of Tutankhamun’s tomb has uncovered a wealth of fascinating information about ancient jewelry. The majority of the captivating gold jewelry pieces discovered portrayed animals.
The young king’s body was found next to hundreds of jewelry pieces, including pendants, diadems, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, earrings, and rings shaped like vultures, sphinxes, falcons, and other well-known Egyptian animals.
Serpents and the scarab beetle were two of the most important animals that were carved into rings or necklaces in ancient Egypt, particularly for royalty and other high-ranking individuals.
The ways in which these frightening creatures are portrayed and the myths associated with them may be the cause. For instance, wearing a serpent was thought to shield the person from harm and the evil eye. As a result, several bracelets, necklaces, and amulets were fashioned after the most ferocious varieties of desert serpents.
Numerous ancient civilizations, including the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and nearly all others, included animal motifs into their jewelry creations.
The Minoan civilizations produced two of the most well-known pieces of bronze age jewelry with animal motifs.
The first one is known as “The Master of Animals Pendant” and is currently on exhibit in the British Museum in London. It’s a gold pendant with a god holding two seabirds from their necks, most likely geese. Two snakes are around the two birds.
“The Bee Pendant” is the name of the other item. The two bees in this gold necklace are attempting to insert a honey drop into their honeycomb.
We would be enthralled by the significant role that animal-inspired jewelry played in the royal jewelry collection if we scrolled farther back in time to the British rulers.
Numerous English queens adorned themselves with jewelry shaped like falcons, phoenixes, and other wild creatures. The most noteworthy item, though, was Queen Elizabeth’s jewelry, which is the first thing seen in her photo.
The artwork shows a big serpent adorned with jewels clutching a jewel in the shape of a heart in its mouth. In order to demonstrate to people that she had a clever heart that is difficult to corrupt, Queen Elizabeth picked this particular piece of jewelry to wear in her portrait.
The Current Representation of Animals
It’s possible that ladies nowadays like donning a pendant of their favorite animal, like a fish or a dog, or a set of cat-themed gold earrings.
It is a fact that many individuals own necklaces or rings that are inspired by their pets, particularly for everyday wear, but there is still a significant and more opulent depiction of wild animals in jewelry.
The allure of a crocodile necklace or a tiger gold set on an ensemble is the explanation. Despite the fact that individuals might not consciously consider it, these wild creatures stand for power, knowledge, wealth, fertility, and the birth of new life. The primary meaning of wild animals in jewelry was as mentioned above.
Since snakes occasionally alter their skin, some people believe that a snake ring might still represent a snake’s capacity to adapt to changing conditions and become stronger over time.
What then are some of the animals’ symbolic meanings in jewelry?
Scorpions and serpents
As previously said, snakes and serpents, by nature, are deadly and symbolize power. They were among the jewelry interred with the deceased in ancient times since they also stand for fresh life.
Snakes and scorpions are not different. These are a sign of power and defense against evil because of their potential for harm.
untamed birds
Among many other animals, eagles, phoenixes, and falcons stand for freedom and the link between heaven and the earth.
Fish and Frogs
Fish and frogs are symbols of fertility because they produce large quantities of eggs. Bridal jewelry collections in the ancient Mediterranean and North African civilizations included fish decorations like pendants and frog charms.