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Egyptian Revival jewelry is highly regarded amongst discerning jewelry collectors, but does not always enjoy commercial success. It consists of everything from snake bracelets to headdresses featuring traditional Egyptian symbols such as scarabs, sphinx and pyramids. There have been several different Egyptian Revival movements throughout the last 2 centuries. The first spanned from approximately 1860-1870 around the construction of the Suez Canal. The second began when King Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922. Most recently, the US tour of the treasures of King Tut’s tomb in the mid-1970’s ushered in yet another Egyptian Revival.
This piece is an Egyptian Revival bracelet made of gold, faience and enamel. Faience, popular in the ancient world, is a non-clay based ceramic material with a surface glaze that creates a bright luster of various colors. It is often confused with turquoise because of the color of the glaze used. The bracelet depicts two of the most popular Egyptian themes: the scarab, in the center, flanked by the blue lotus. The sacred scarab, a type of beetle, is an important symbol in Egyptian art and symbolizes the god Khepri, god of the sun. The lotus symbolizes creation. For a society that valued the afterlife and rebirth, these are two very powerful symbols.
The more recent Egyptian Revival in the 1970’s featured mass-produced costume jewelry, in particular necklaces. These tended to be gold plated rather than actual gold, and serve a more decorative purpose. This is a key reason that the age of a piece can be important in determining its value. Contemporary jewelry is often mass-produced, and can be made of less expensive materials made to look like the genuine article. Print this post
