Ever since their origin thousands of years ago, Ancient Egyptians have led the way in architecture, design, and culture. Their incredible achievements continue to fascinate modern-day historians and enthusiasts alike, as archaeological finds uncover more secrets about their innovative history.
Although mostly recognized as the home of the Great Pyramids, mummified tombs, Pharaohs, Cleopatra, and even as the birthplace of the 365-day calendar, many believe that it is Ancient Egypt’s jewelry and gemstones that are their most prized creations. Jewelry was worn as personal adornment, social status, and even protection. While silver was originally the most popular metal to embellish their most prized gemstones and colored glass with, the discovery of Gold defined the rise in Egyptian jewelry.
Gold was often considered to be blessed by the Gods or even thought to be the flesh of the Gods because it never tarnished. The Ancient Egyptians have a rich history of excessive personal adornment, and their taste in jewelry only further reiterated this. While the lower class usually donned jewelry of copper, colorful stones, and faience, the upper class adorned themselves in lavish amounts of gold, silver, lapis, gemstones, and sometimes even faience too. Faience was made from ground quartz and then mixed with a colorant that was then heated and molded to mimic more natural and expensive stones. The most popular faience color was a blue-green shade, which mimicked turquoise.
Statues of Gods and Kings were extravagantly decorated with beautiful gemstones, and the deceased were adorned in jewelry to take with them to the afterlife. Many examples of their lavish jewelry taste are depicted on carvings and tomb paintings.
Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Display Case
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Ancient Egypt’s Most Treasured Gemstones
Aside from gold, Ancient Egyptian jewelry was often made from precious and semi-precious stones.
Lapis Lazuli
One of the most treasured gemstones of Ancient Egypt was Lapis Lazuli. The stone was often thought to be of Godly importance, and it is widely believed Cleopatra even used powdered-down Lapis Lazuli as an eye adornment. Lapis Lazuli was also used in the death mask of Tutankhamun to surround his eyes and eyebrows.
Lapis Lazuli
Lapis Lazuli was associated with Isis and considered one of the most powerful stones used by Ancient Egyptians. The stone’s deep blue color reflected the color of the heavens and was associated with holiness, creation, and resurrection. Lotus flowers in Egyptian artwork were often made out of Lapis. The magical healing properties of Lapis Lazuli included helping with stress and anxiety as well as reducing insomnia and ending nightmares. It was believed that wearing a Lapis pendant could ease a sore throat, balance the thyroid, and facilitate open communication. A piece of Lapis Lazuli may be offered to a teacher by a student upon initiation into a temple or priesthood.
Turquoise
Along with Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise was one of the most treasured gemstones in Ancient Egypt. The Ancient Egyptians sourced their Turquoise from the mines in the Sinai Peninsula, which are still used today! Similarly, to Lapis Lazuli, Turquoise was used to adorn the necks of ancient Pharaohs and was often carved into the shape of scarab beetles and used as a protective talisman.
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Turquoise
Turquoise is connected with the goddess Hathor, ruler of fertility, motherhood, and music. This stone was first found in Egypt over 7,000 years ago. This stone was prized for its bright blue-green color, which resembles the color of the sea. The sea represented happiness and cleanliness, so this gemstone stood for the same meanings.
Carnelian
Carnelian was revered by the Ancient Egyptians as a stone of redemption and strength. It was associated with symbols of power and protection in Ancient Egyptian culture including the right eye of Horus, the setting sun and Ra, as well as Isis. The Carnelian amulet called the Tyet, also known as the Isis Knot, bestowed protection upon the dead.
Carnelian
James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote: “The most commonly used gemstone in Dynastic Egypt was carnelian, with amazonite, amethyst, red jasper, lapis lazuli, and turquoise next in abundance. The other gemstones were rarely used in comparison”.
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Other Gemstones
It was believed that Gold was the life force of the Sun god Ra, and that all of the gods had Golden skin. Amethyst was loved by the Egyptians because of its purple hue. Purple and blue represented royalty to the Ancient Egyptians. Malachite with its green color was associated with fertility and the harvest. Malachite was very popular in Ancient Egypt and it was associated with wisdom and was worn by pharaohs to promote prophetic vision. Red jasper was used for necklaces and placed on mummies. It symbolized blood and fire and was thought to assist with safe passage into the afterlife. Serpentine was used for amulets and made into protective scarabs which were placed on the heart of mummies. Topaz was associated with Ra, the sun god, because of its golden color.
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Symbolism and Motifs
Ancient Egyptian jewelry often incorporated important symbolism and motifs. Egyptians rarely ever created anything that didn’t have an underlying meaning, and their jewelry was no exception. One of the most popular symbols in Ancient Egyptian history was the scarab beetle. It symbolized rebirth, and the Egyptians associated it with the divine manifestation of the early morning sun, Khepri.
It was believed that, like a scarab beetle that deposits its eggs into a ball of dung, the sun was rolled around in the heavens by a giant beetle and reborn each day. People also wore scarab necklaces with engraved prayers for health and safety.
Egyptian Scarab Bracelet
Ancient Egyptian Mines
James Harrell of the University of Toledo wrote that at least 38 gemstone varieties were used by the Egyptians, but ancient mines in Egypt are known for only nine of these. Some of the gemstones were imported from sources in Asia, while others certainly came from undiscovered Egyptian mines.
Relatively few gemstones have known mines in Egypt. The use of other gemstone varieties is occasionally claimed in the Egyptological literature, but these are unconfirmed identifications.
Turquoise came from the Sinai Peninsula’s Serabit el-Khadim and Wadi Maghara mines, and lapis lazuli was brought from the Badakhshan region of northeast Afghanistan and possibly also adjacent areas in Pakistan. Certainly in the 18th Dynasty as well as in the Ptolemaic and Roman Periods, amazonite came from Egyptian mines on the Eastern Desert’s Gebel Migif and Gebel Hafafit, and workings from other periods may yet be discovered in this region where more amazonite deposits are known .
In addition to amazonite and turquoise, ancient Egyptian mines are known for carnelian and the common and green chalcedonies at Stela Ridge, amethyst at Abu Diyeiba and Wadi el-Hudi , emerald at the six Mons Smaragdus mines, and peridot on the Red Sea island of Zabargad.
Gemstone Identification and Challenges
Ancient gemstones are usually identified on the basis of their macroscopic attributes (e.g., color, diaphaneity, luster, cleavage or fracture type, inclusions, and crystal form), and when individual loose stones can be examined, standard non- destructive gemological tests (e.g., refractive index, specific gravity, spectroscopic pattern, and polariscope response, among others) can be an effective means of recognition.
Mohs scratch hardness and reaction to dilute acid, both only mildly damaging, can also provide useful information, but certain identification sometimes requires destructive analytical tests for mineralogy and chemistry.
Terminology and correct identification are not the only difficulties in a survey of ancient Egyptian gemstones. Nearly all objects with gemstones come from tombs, most spectacularly the royal and elite private ones, but these are only the rare burials that were overlooked or incompletely plundered by thieves.
The Value of Color
With the exceptions of precious emerald and sapphire, the materials are, at best, what today would be called “semi-precious” stones. The ancient Egyptians chose gemstones not only for their visual effect in a particular application, but also for the symbolic or magical significance of their color.
Red (in carnelian, garnet, and some jasper) connoted life-sustaining blood, power and vitality, and the sun; green (in amazonite, some chalcedony, some jasper, malachite, and some turquoise) signified rebirth in the afterlife, fertility, joy, and lush vegetation; dark blue (in lapis lazuli) represented the all-embracing and protective night sky; and light blue (in some turquoise) symbolized the primordial waters and daytime sky.
Substitutes and Imitations
Glass with red, green, and blue colors was widely used to imitate gemstones beginning in the 18th Dynasty. Also at this time, imitation carnelian was made by setting colorless rock crystal over a red paste. Colored faience (glazed composition) was another inexpensive substitute for gemstones used from the late Predynastic Period onward.
These practices became so prevalent that ancient texts mentioning some of the more valuable gemstones (e.g., amazonite, lapis lazuli, and turquoise) sometimes appended the word mAa (maa), meaning “true,” to indicate their authenticity.
Ancient Egyptian Jewelry Today
Ancient Egyptian jewelry and gemstones remain as popular today as they were over 5,000 years ago. As more hidden treasures are discovered by archaeologists and further analyzed by historians, Ancient Egyptian Gemstones and artifacts are increasing in value and popularity. Styles and designs from thousands of years ago are still influencing today’s current jewelry market.
Ancient Egyptian jewelry and gemstones make for a beautiful gift for a loved one. Ancient Egyptian jewelry and gemstones are also fantastic collectors’ items and can increase in value over time.
Ancient Egyptian Pectoral
Table of Gemstones and Their Associations
| Gemstone | Color | Associations |
|---|---|---|
| Lapis Lazuli | Deep Blue | Holiness, Creation, Resurrection, Isis |
| Turquoise | Blue-Green | Happiness, Cleanliness, Hathor |
| Carnelian | Red | Redemption, Strength, Power, Protection |
| Gold | Golden | Life Force of Ra |
| Amethyst | Purple | Royalty |
| Malachite | Green | Fertility, Harvest, Wisdom |
| Red Jasper | Red | Blood, Fire, Safe Passage to Afterlife |
| Topaz | Golden | Ra, Sun God |
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