Royal Jewels

[Sithathoriunet]

ok, just one i found of diana....pretty and smart lady!
you can see her ring pretty well in this one....

 

[Sithathoriunet]

here is a side view of the display showing the gold and royal jewels belonging to queen ahhotep.
i''ll find some close ups of individual jewels....

 

[Sithathoriunet]

but first a lovely crown, or diadem....yum!

 

[Sithathoriunet]

queen ahhotep''s pectoral...in this scene the gods are pouring water, life, over the king.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

this is the queen''s armlet. it rested on the upper part of the arm...

 

[Sithathoriunet]

the queen ahhotep''s broad collar, all of these elements are of solid gold.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

here we have queen ahhotep''s wide bangle bracelet, the coronation scene of the king ahmose., solid gold inlayed with lapis lazuli

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and another view of the beautiful bangle

 

[Sithathoriunet]

another of the queen''s armlets, this one a vulture.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

another shot of her bracelets, this one has another bracelet in it different to the first photo of this type..

 

[Sithathoriunet]

really quick i have these of diana to post...i thought it neat to see her bracelet ...with the P R.......reminded me of her D necklace...does anyone know if the P R continues and say PRINCESS?????

 

[Sithathoriunet]

here it is closer..

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and just a sweet pic of her...

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and she looks great in red

 

[Sithathoriunet]

and the wedding shot...

 

[Sithathoriunet]

i''ll post some more ancient royal jewels tomorrow...much to do!
jenna

 

[T L]

Another extremely popular princess: Princess Masako and her tiara. She looks lovely in this photo.

 

[T L]

Princess Masako (trying to upload)

 

[AdiS]

Recently I came upon some really interesting pieces of Thracian jewellery that were found in different tombs in Bulgaria. The Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes, bizarre people really. Their origins are entirely shrouded in mystery and theory. They inhabited the Balkan peninsula, as well as the adjacent parts of Eastern Europe. It was known that a number of powerful Thracian states were organized, such as the Odrysian kingdom.that consisted largely of present-day Bulgaria. It endured between the 5th century BC and the 3rd century BC and that period is considered the bloom of the Thracian culture. The Thracians were famous for their exquisite jewellery and a large number of elaborately crafted gold and silver treasure sets from the 5th and 4th century BC had been unearthed.
The Thracian aristocrats were buried in tombs and so was their jewellery.
Thought I’d start with some magnificent solid gold earrings that once belonged to a young noble Thracian lady. They represent the goddess Nike and they’re absolutely perfect down to the last detail. The clasp is covered by a little disk ornamented with stamen and leaflets. The body of the goddess is so detailed that you can actually see her facial features, her fingers and toes, her earrings and the laces of her sandals. The rhyton she’s holding in her raised hand is shaped like a deer. The shocking thing is how small that earring is in IRL-it’s placed under a magnifying glass so you could see all the details. It was dated around 4th century BC I believe.
Picture-courtesy of R. Donev and the Museum of Archaeology -Varna.

 

[AdiS]

Another golden earring representing the goddess Nike (guess she was really popular back then). This time she’s driving a carriage with two horses. It belonged to a noble lady or a high priestess. (The end of 3rd century BC)

 

[AdiS]

Same from another angle.

 

[AdiS]

And while we''re on this subject, here''s something interesting - golden earrings with pyramids. 5-4th century BC.

 

[Sithathoriunet]

thankyou ADIS for those lovely pics! i LOVE LOVE LOVE ancient jewels! and what detail in the earrings with the horses! keep them coming! it''s so interesting to see what history royal jewels have had!
jenna

 

[AdiS]

Now these items were part of the burial of a Thracian princess (around 4th century BC). The wreath weights 200 g of pure gold. It was placed on the head of the princess and over 40 little golden applications were scattered around it. They were probably hanging from a veil once. The princess was also wearing beautiful golden earrings.
The wreath:

 

[AdiS]

And the earrings:


You are very welcome Sithathoriunet! I love ancient jewels too and some of the pieces you posted were just to die for!

 

[AdiS]

OK, a few necklaces now.
Pictures-courtesy of the Bulgarian National Museum Of Archaeology.

 

[AdiS]

One more. Let me just say that the noble Thracian men wore necklaces as often as women did. This particular type of necklace was a symbol of social or a military status. So this one probably belonged to a member of the royal family or a very important nobleman.

 

[AdiS]

And last one - an example of the golden applications I mentioned earlier. They are called fibulae and they were used as adornment and as a pin.

 

[AdiS]

No, wait, I have one more fibula

This one is a horseman with a spear.

 

[T L]

I think this thread on royal jewels is turning into a thread on historical jewels, and that''s perfectly fine with me!! I''m learning so much looking at all this jewelry from times gone by.