A portrait of Alexander the Great was a favorite figure, in many materials and forms. Although Alexander gave one artist exclusive right to reproduce his likeness after his death, as this monopoly lapsed there was a boom on “good luck” jeweled representations of the man who wept because there were no more worlds for him to conquer.
The Greeks did not ape all the antics of the Phoenicians, some of whose high-born ladies pierced the entire rim of their ears, as well as the lobe, each jewel in its eyelet supporting a pendant stone. The Greeks used but one ornament per ear; but these grew larger and larger, more and more weighted with metal and studded with jewels, and so were finally worn suspended from a diadem or a cloth band.
Alexander’s conquests having taken the Greeks into farther lands and introduced them to unsuspected splendors of the Orient, they carried home gems that before had been unfamiliar to them: the topaz, the amethyst, the aquamarine.
Etruscan Achievements
In Italy, meanwhile, the Etruscans had brought the work of the goldsmith and the lapidary to a high peak of artistry. They developed the swivel ring, in which the mounted gem or special charm might be turned about, so that any face of it could be displayed. Thus the carvings on the belly of a scarab became as important as the design on its back.
The Etruscans also made circular or oval bands of earrings and necklaces, within which a pendant might hang free, a gently swinging precious stone or golden charm. From their necklaces often hung a hollow pendant, in which an amulet might be placed. They made many headpieces, bands, wreaths, and pins of beaten or granulated gold.
Especially deft was the work of the Etruscans in granulated gold. Onto a metal surface they soldered tiny specks of gold, almost as fine as powder, producing the effect of a rich grain. The artistry of the Etruscan work was so superb that when it was recovered during the Renaissance, Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), the greatest goldsmith of his time, despaired of making successful copies of the Etruscan pieces and decided to shape designs of his own devising, “inferior as they may be.”
The Roman Conquest
The whole Etruscan civilization gave way before the splendor that was Rome. Home from their conquests the Romans brought great stores of jewels, treasures of the Orient. Before the crowding and gaping throngs of the imperial city, the “triumphs” of their rulers marched for hours through the streets of Rome, while foreign potentates pulled chariots bearing their conquerors and carts with the loot of their palaces. At Pompey’s third triumph, in addition to countless gold and silver cases bestudded with gems, there were three dining-couches adorned with pearls, and a great chessboard, three feet by four, wrought of two precious stones, with a golden moon, weighing thirty pounds.
The Romans also brought home artisans, metal workers and jewelers, from whom after a time the natives learned their craft. Again we find the victors trying to outdo the vanquished whom they naturally despised. The adornments of men and women grew more and more massive. Women’s hairpins were eight and ten inches long. Rings were worn upon every finger. Great thumb rings were set with jewels or made of gold in various designs, especially the heads of animals. Some of the bands of gold were very large but hollow; down the ages echo complaints that, in accident or brawl, a golden ring was crushed. The wealthy, of course, insisted on rings of solid gold. These became so heavy that some had to be worn in cold weather only, lighter ones being designed for summer wear. A specialty among the patricians came to be the key ring, a golden band with the key devised to lie flat along the finger, thus keeping with the master the safety of his treasures. Often a large iron key ring was worn by the chief steward of an estate; this opened the strongbox, which might hold the dinner plate and other daily valuables, and within a recess of which nestled the treasure chest of the golden key.