During the Hellenistic period of ancient Greek history, jewelry served as a means for personal adornment as well as an offering for the gods. The Greeks were a pious people who worshipped a large number of deities. Most of them required or encouraged some form of sacrifice or gift in exchange for answered prayers. Not surprisingly, many pieces of beautifully designed jewelry were expressly commissioned to be dedicated at a temple and left there as a reminder to the god or goddess of the prayers issued along with the gift.
When the jewelry item was made for personal use, its design and material choices were frequently decided on with an eye on durability. Greeks liked to pass on their jewelry to the next generation. Women in particular purchased jewelry with the intent of gifting these pieces to their daughters when they married. Since jewelry was a common wedding gift for a mother to give, the pieces had to have a somewhat timeless appeal to remain in the families for several generations.
Typical pieces included earrings, bracelets, bands to be worn around the upper arms and thighs, rings, wreaths and necklaces. Men might wear pins on their cloaks. Popular motifs included depictions of gods, demigods and nature. Before gold caught on widely as a material of choice in ancient Greek jewelry – right around 1600 BCE – there were stringed beads. These beads were frequently worked to take on animal or even shell shapes. Another change in the way Greeks created jewelry was brought on by trade. Greece benefited tremendously from the riches of the Silk Road, which led to imports of numerous precious stones from Asia, Egypt and North Africa.
Right around 300 BCE, ancient Greek jewelry included pearls and intricately carved settings. Inlays were becoming the norm. Artisans worked hard to improve the intricacy of their carvings since these pieces could demand higher prices on the markets. During this time, cameo jewelry became quite popular and further forced artisans to refine their jewelry making techniques. Right around this time, another change took place. The ancient Greek style of jewelry design changed by 27 BCE when the pressing influence of the Roman Empire flooded the Greek world as well.
Jewelry dating back to this period is occasionally difficult to separate by Greek or Roman origins. Historians and jewelry experts suggest that Greek designs rarely tended toward the opulence their Roman counterparts showed off. As a result, they sometimes look to the innate straightforwardnessof Greek designs as a means to tell apart the pieces from this period. Modern jewelry makers are now imitating the look of ancient Greek jewelry as this style is currently enjoying a great revival.
At Peter Suchy Jewelers, we are experts at vintage and antique jewelry and many of the pieces we run across are vintage and estate Greek jewelry items. We invite you to stop by our showroom located at 1137 High Ridge Road in Stamford Connecticut and take a look around!
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