Bracelets, bangles and anklets were popular ornaments for women of all classes from the Predynastic period onwards, with one of the most prominent early bracelet-wearers being Queen Hetepheres, the mother of the 4th Dynasty pyramid-builder King Cheops. Hetepheres’ portrait shows her arms loaded down with jewellery, and she was buried with a box containing twenty inlaid silver bracelets intended for wear during the Afterlife. Anklets are notoriously difficult to differentiate from bracelets unless they are recovered still encircling the limb of a dead body, and even the Egyptians found it necessary to add the words ‘for the feet’ when labelling boxes of foot jewellery. It would appear that many archaeologists, perhaps unused to the idea of anklets, have also been confused by the similarity of these pieces, as items recovered from disturbed graves have frequently been misclassified. Anklets were originally exclusively female ornaments, but by the Middle Kingdom were being worn by both men and women of all classes. The most chic coordinated look was achieved by those who sported a wide decorated bracelet and a slightly thicker matching anklet.
Finger rings are rarely shown in either paintings or sculpture but they were worn by both sexes from the Predynastic period onwards, growing in popularity until, by the New Kingdom, faience rings were being mass produced and worn as fashionable costume jewellery. These rings were worn on any finger of either hand though scarab-seal rings, which were indicative of high social status and consequently confined to male bureaucrats, were by convention worn on the third finger of the left hand. In contrast, earrings were almost unknown until the New Kingdom when, influenced by their foreign neighbours, women of all ranks pierced their ears and enthusiastically purchased a wide variety of styles. Gold hoops and glass studs, very similar in design to those worn all over the world today, became very popular. Decorated faience ear plugs, comparatively large flat discs with a grooved edge designed to permanently stretch the earlobe far beyond its natural size, were also highly prized. As today, the expensive and well-made gold and jewelled earrings worn by the ladies of the court were reproduced in cheaper materials such as pottery or glass, and became within the reach of everyone’s pocket. High-ranking men also wore earrings and Tutankhamen’s mummy had pierced ears even though he was not wearing his earrings when he was mummified. Earrings for men were not simply a form of personal adornment; they represented a badge of faithful service to the king and were only worn by those who had also been awarded a ceremonial gold necklace for their loyal work. The pharaoh traditionally used expensive gifts of jewellery, the ‘Gold of the Brave’, as a means of expressing his approval to both his distinguished soldiers and his loyal civil servants, somewhat as medals and knighthoods are awarded today. The lucky recipients of these tokens of esteem frequently recorded the presentation ceremony on the walls of their tombs.
The importance of an Egyptian woman’s jewellery is very difficult for us to assess. We can see that it had an ornamental function, can assume that it acted as an indication of the wealth and social status of the woman and her family, and know that many of the pieces also had a perceived protective power. Whether the woman also regarded her jewels as an investment for her future is less clear. In many societies where women’s ownership of property is limited, jewellery and gold ornaments, often given by the husband at the time of the marriage, are traditionally held to be the property of the woman herself and act as her hedge against hard times. This is the case in the modern Egyptian village where gold is given to a girl by her fiancé to seal their engagement. It is the weight of the gold rather than the craftsmanship of the pieces which is of importance in this instance. The system functions because the jewellery given is precious, and has a recognized high financial value which may be redeemed at a later date. In contrast, the situation in Dynastic Egypt, where a woman’s right to a share of joint property was recognized both by convention and by the law, and where the majority of the jewellery which has been recovered is not of particularly high value, is not directly comparable. All indications are that the jewellery was simply valued as an indication of social status and as a means of expressing personal taste.
She who once lacked even a box now had furniture, while she who used to see her face in the water now owns a mirror.
Admonitions of the Middle Kingdom Scribe Ipuwer
Sadly, there was no way that the Egyptian lady could get a head-to-toe view of herself dressed in all her finery as full-length mirrors were unknown; indeed, the less affluent members of society had to be content with viewing their reflections in the River Nile. For those of greater means, a hand-held mirror of polished metal, appropriately named a ‘see-face’, was very useful for examining the features and perfecting the makeup. The majority of the mirrors which have been recovered are made from bronze and are heavily tarnished with pitted and corroded surfaces, but experimental repolishing has confirmed that they would indeed have provided a true or even a slightly magnified image. As with many other everyday objects in Egyptian life,