Ancient Mesopotamian Jewelry
Example of an Ancient Mesopotamian Jewelry (Credit: Brittanica.com) Jewelry of Ancient Mesopotamia dates back about 4,000years from today. In the ancient cities of Sumer and Akkad significant jewelry designs were found mostly from the Royal Cemetery of Ur. It is interesting for me to see how even today, consciously or unconsciously, we get influenced by such ancient styles, especially their filigree work.
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In old Mesopotamia, jewelry were mostly made with gold and silver adorned with precious and semi precious stones. Lapis lazuli was a very favored stone. Carnelian, agate, jasper were also found in the graves. Men and women both wore jewelry in the form of amulets, ankle bracelets, heavy multi-strand necklaces and cylinder seals. 
The cylinder seals were used for notarizing and attesting official documents. They intrigue me. They were like picture story. Impressions were taken on a two dimensional surface like clay, hard stone or ceramic. But they were also done on metal. These seals are the base of Mesopotamian hyroglyphs. To make the seals, semi precious stones like carnelian, hematite, obsidian and amethysts were also used. Jewelry were created for both human use and for adorning statues and idols. Their favored shapes were- spirals, cones, leaves, and bunches of grapes. Mesopotamian jewelers were exposed to enamel work and cloisonné. They used very fine metal to make filigree,work. That shows their superb craftsmanship in jewelry making. Their knowledge of using and creating such sophisticated tools still amaze me today. After
Ancient Mesopotamian Jewelry
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