Indeed, earrings have a long history and have undergone many incarnations in terms of the design and materials used, so it’s time to go into the time tunnel and see how this beloved and common piece of jewelry got to what it is today.
Earrings in the Bible period
Both the word earring and a bracelet are mentioned in the Bible in quite a few places. “Unload the gold bars, which are in the ears of your bitches, your sons and your daughters; And brought, to me “where” everyone, including women and children, was asked to donate jewelry and gold earrings in favor of building the golden calf.
Ear holes in the Alps
From Egypt to Buddha and Siddhartha
According to writings, paintings and carvings it could be seen that earrings were a common item for different cultures and they were created and developed in each one independently. In Egypt, men were seen wearing a gold hoop earring. In both Buddha and Siddhartha, large and particularly tense earlobes were seen as a sign of wearing large and heavy earrings. In Egypt there was also evidence that earrings were worn by children as well. Tombs of children of kings wearing earrings were found. Although they were a sign of high status as in Egypt or of clergy and intellectuals as in India, earrings were also a less positive status symbol. In some cultures they were seen by slaves as a hallmark of being a slave of a particular person. The slave could not remove the earring himself and hence the concept of a slave was also deceived.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance – earrings came and went
In later periods earrings were seen less. In those times both men and women used to go with a headdress so that earrings did not really fit. Expensive gold earrings were sometimes used to pay for a Christian burial. Thus until the 19th century fewer earrings were seen. You could see them mostly on pirates. At the end of the 19th century diamonds began to become more and more recognizable and became a coveted and prestigious gemstone. At the same time they started to go less with a headdress so that a connection between the two brought the earrings back into the picture, as diamond earrings became in demand among the upper classes and became a status symbol.
In the 20th century: from the seventies the earrings are back and big
From the seventies or so earrings began to return and became one of the most sought after jewelry. A wide variety of earrings has been created, from simple to expensive ones made of gold and diamonds, from stud earrings through dangling earrings to hoops. Thus to this day the variety of earrings is only expanding and as mentioned they not only adorn the ear lobe but are found in different places.