As with many ancient societies, jewellery was an important social marker, used to demonstrate wealth and richness. Ancient Egyptian hardstone necklaces were intricate pieces of jewellery, often featuring colourful semi-precious stones like lapis lazuli, turquoise, carnelian, and jasper, carved into protective amulets (scarabs, falcons, hearts) or beads, signifying status, religious belief, and desire for eternal life or healing, commonly used in broad collars (usekh) and sacred adornments.
The colour green was vitally important and symbolic for the ancient Egyptians. Naturally, it was associated with life and vegetation. The rich fertile valley of the Nile and the abundance of life that could be found amongst the lush green banks fed this connection. It was a colour however also associated with rebirth and thus to death. Osiris, the god of the underworld, was always depicted with green skin, to mirror this connection. Alongside blue, it was a colour most commonly used for amulets, beads and other jewellery elements. It was also likely the oldest colour used, with evidence of malachite used in Predynastic palettes and on tomb paintings from the 4th Dynasty. Malachite was most often the source for green pigment due to its relatively soft composition, lending itself well to being ground down and moulded.
To discover more about jewellery in the Ancient World, please visit our relevant post: Jewellery in Antiquity.
Reference: For similar: The Metropolitan Museum, New York, item 10.130.3155
