7000 Years of Jewelry

by The British Museum, Hugh Tait (Editor)

"A mind-boggling feat, this survey of 7000 years of glittering memorabilia of lost empires, royal egos, superstition and sentiment." --New York Times Book Review

The most comprehensive and beautifully illustrated history of jewelry.

The previous edition of this exhaustive survey was published to critical acclaim by the British Museum Press. Since publication, the museum has expanded its collection, with major acquisitions of pieces from Europe and Asia. The new edition includes a complete revision of the section on Europe after 1700, plus revisions to the sections on Celtic Europe, Roman Britain, cameos and finger rings.

The book explores the varied styles, techniques and materials used to make jewelry in many civilizations throughout the world and across the millennia. Egyptian necklaces, Celtic torcs, South American gold masks, Renaissance pendants and Art Nouveau buckles are examples of the range of the masterpieces described and illustrated with 400 superb photographs.

7000 Years of Jewelry takes readers on an impressive tour that includes, among other times and places:



The Middle East: 5000-2000 BC Egypt: 1500-900 BC Phoenician, Greek, Etruscan and Persian Lands: 850-325 BC China, Celtic Europe, Mexico and Peru: 600 BC-AD 600 The Mediterranean, India, Egypt, Roman Britain and Byzantium: 325 BC-AD 600 Europe, China, Korea and Japan: AD 300-1000 Mayan Central America: AD 600-1000 Central and South America: AD 500-1500 Europe, Islam, China, Korea and Java: AD 1000-1500 China, India, Tibet and Mongolia: AD 1500-1850 West Africa: AD 1500-1800 Europe: AD 1500-1950. More comprehensive than before, this reference remains the finest and most beautifully illustrated history of jewelry ever published.

Genres: Jewellery, History, Fashion, Nonfiction, Art, Art History, Reference

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of jewelry from seals and signet rings and male-focused pieces, to religious devotion pieces, to tokens of affection and marriage is fascinating. You will be surprised at how many of these pieces have influenced contemporary jewelry. I would have liked to have seen more modern jewelry in the mix however--the most recent is from the 1950s.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

So many words, so little info. Took me several tries and then a concerted effort to finish it. Extremely dry, poorly organized. I understand that it's the museum's collection, but it seems like they ought to have just subtitled it western history than have a few vague throw ins about other continents and portray it as comprehensive.

Some beautiful photographs, but an astounding number in black and white, which given that they're owned seems like they could have been portrayed in color. Especially since they were printed on color pages, not like the black and white photos in a book as opposed to the tipped in color pages.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a lot of info, but the photos are pretty!

[Foad]

read

[Anna L · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s a brief but reasonably comprehensive overview of development of jewelry techniques and fashions over the years and around the globe. I would have preferred all photos to be in full color (quite a few are black and white) but I enjoyed this book as is.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book. However, it was a rather dry description of jewellery throughout the ages. The descriptions of photographs (of which there were plenty) were sometimes placed in confusing spots, requiring the reader to guess.

[Alanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for sparking curiosity or finding historical tidbits. As with any reasonably sized book trying to encompass 7000 years, there is no part that goes very in-depth, but the pictures are great and provides enough information to incite rabbit holing later.

[JewelryStoreDirectory · Rating 5 out of 5]

All jewelers must read.

[Kim Browers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This started off with some really exciting pieces, especially the color plate Sumerian ensemble. However, there were some publishing quirks I wasn't fond of.
1. Most of the plates were black and white
2. The numbered descriptions were not all included as photographs for the publication.
3. Some of the labeling was missing completely on the plates.
The areas I was most interested in were skimmed over, which I assume is due in part to what is housed in the collection itself. But the way the book is organized left me wanting more, I wanted more color plates, and I wanted everything that was published to be included photographically. The pieces published here are still fantastic, without a doubt, but this is definitely too broad-spectrum for time, cultures, and curated pieces to keep for my collection.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So far this book is quite interesting, the pictures are superb however it is fairly dry reading. I am enjoying it slowly.

[Alessandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really beautiful and comprehensive book. There is a lot of silver and enamel work and carved gemstones, as well as gold items.

[Dieshnan]

history of jewelry