Religious & spiritual jewelry

[bludiva]

There's a thread on crosses but I thought it may be nice to have one on religious & spiritual jewelry more broadly.

@leukolenos Here is the medallion I was telling you about....gifted by my grandparents. Christ Pantocrator on one side and Sts. Constantine & Helen on the other. (so nice meeting you btw!)

 

[AGBF]

bludiva wrote:

"There's a thread on crosses but I thought it may be nice to have one on religious & spiritual jewelry more broadly."

I agree with you, bludiva, but I think there already is one. I will search for it in case it has anything worthwhile in it. I applaud your having started this new one and will just post any new finds here. Thank you!

Deb

 

[bludiva]

bludiva wrote:

"There's a thread on crosses but I thought it may be nice to have one on religious & spiritual jewelry more broadly."

I agree with you, bludiva, but I think there already is one. I will search for it in case it has anything worthwhile in it. I applaud your having started this new one and will just post any new finds here. Thank you!

Deb

i couldn't find it but maybe searched for the wrong terms...thank you !

 

[AGBF]

i couldn't find it but maybe searched for the wrong terms...thank you !

I couldn't find it, either (at least yet), bludiva. I am very interested in this topic, however. While I was rooting around on Pricescope I happened to find this interesting thread which I am linking to your thread. If anyone finds this thread one day and wants to read about the customs associated with Jewish wedding bands, he can go to this thread:

Jewish Wedding Bands...https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/question-about-jewish-wedding-band-traditions.107768/

 

[AGBF]

I am also linking two threads on crosses:

The major Pricescope thread on crosses...https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/crosses.108913/page-9

and a small one:

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/source-for-unique-unusual-crosses.106385/

 

[AGBF]

First Holy Communion Gifts/James Avery Jewelry...https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/gift-for-first-holy-communion.81989/

James Avery Jewelry History...https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/james-avery-has-died.240626/

 

[leukolenos]

Thank you for the picture @bludiva ! I was so hoping that you would remember. What a spectacular piece. Could you post more about its age and origin? I love it- it has such unique Byzantine styling. It almost reminds me a bit of ancient Mycenaean gold pieces.
Christ Pantokrator is one of my favorite depictions of Christ so I was very interested in seeing your piece. Looking at this sent me down quite the rabbit hole looking at Byzantine and Orthodox religious jewelry...such beautiful things!

I will post photos of some of the medals in my collection soon.

 

[bludiva]

Thank you for the picture @bludiva ! I was so hoping that you would remember. What a spectacular piece. Could you post more about its age and origin? I love it- it has such unique Byzantine styling. It almost reminds me a bit of ancient Mycenaean gold pieces.
Christ Pantokrator is one of my favorite depictions of Christ so I was very interested in seeing your piece. Looking at this sent me down quite the rabbit hole looking at Byzantine and Orthodox religious jewelry...such beautiful things!

I will post photos of some of the medals in my collection soon.

I had to research it because I haven't seen another one like it...it's a replica of an old Byzantine coin that was given by the godparents at baptisms during the Ottoman days. This one was gifted to me by my grandparents.



A detailed explanation here: http://www.mariasjewelry.com/ourjewelry.php

When a Greek Orthodox Christian becomes a godparent, s/he presents a gold baptismal cross to the godchild. Centuries ago, when Greece was part of the Ottoman empire, godparents would present a gold religious medallion--instead of a cross. These gold medallions would usually be designed and made to order. Rich godparents would ask for 22K or 24K gold while poor godparents would opt for less gold content (even 9K or 12K) and (rarely) even silver or amber.


The earliest design depicted in these medallions was inspired by the original 24K gold coin of the Byzantine Empire. It was called a Konstantinanto--literally "the coin of [Emperor] Constantine"--because it was first struck by Emperor Constantine the Great (311-337 AD). Constantine, the first Christian Roman Emperor, later became Saint Constantine and Helen his mother, who in 326 AD discovered The Holy Cross in Jerusalem, became St. Helen. Like all Roman coins, it depicted Constantine on the obverse and winged victory on the reverse.

[Konstantinato (singular, Konstantinata plural) is spelled with a "K" because Constantine in Greek is Κωνσταντινος].


Starting in the 5th century AD Konstantinata assumed a distinct Christian style. Thus, on the obverse there was a depiction of Christ Pantokrator (in Greek, "Ruler of All") or Virgin Mary--see medallions GR 3079 & GR 3082--and on the reverse the image of the emperor (with or without the empress) along with the symbol of the cross--see medallion GR 3080.



Some of the low value coins of the Byzantine Empire were bronze so called "anonymous follis." They were anonymous because on the obverse, instead of Christ, they depicted a simple cross symbol along with the abbreviation of the phrase "Jesus Christ Wins" (or is Victorious). This abbreviation consists of ICXC (which is a Christogram, i.e., an abbreviation in Greek of "Jesus Christ") and the Greek word NIKA--which is the same root as the name of a popular brand name.



According to Orthodox tradition, this particular Christian image can be traced to a vision that Emperor Constantine claimed to have had the evening before the historic Battle of the Milvian Bridge on Oct. 28 312 AD. That is, he saw a cross of light above the sun with the Greek words "With This You Will Win." So, it is genarally believed that he ordered his troops to make banners with the symbols of his apparition and so he went on to beat his adversary, Maxentius.



Nowadays, the Konstantinata medallions are usually presented to the newly born child by the godparent-to-be in a symbolic effort to "goldify the child". So these medallions do not take the place of the traditional baptismal crosses but actually supplement them. They are usually round and made in 14K or 18K gold or 95% silver or sometimes in Gold and Silver (with or without enamel). On the obverse there is the cross and the letters IC (for "Jesus") in the upper left quadrant, the letters XC (for "Christ") in the upper right quadrant and the letters NIKA in the lower half. The reverse side has an embossed depiction of Saints Constantine and Helen on either side of the Holy Cross.