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Egyptian Artifacts

Egyptian Snake Jewelry

I absolutely love snakeΒ π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜ jewelry! My Nonno even got me a replica of the snakeΒ π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜ ringΒ π“‚π“ˆ–π“π“‹ͺ (from the MET) in the last picture for my sixteenth birthday, and while I may be 30 now, I haven’t taken the ringΒ π“‚π“ˆ–π“π“‹ͺ off because I love it so much!Β 

While snakes π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜π“ͺ (such as the Uraeus π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†—) were popular symbols in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, snake π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜ based jewelry such as the bracelets π“‚π“ π“†‘𓂋𓏏𓇛π“ͺ and rings π“‚π“ˆ–𓏏π“‹ͺ𓏦 pictured did not appear in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š– until the Hellenistic times, and then continued on into the Roman Period. Snakes π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜π“ͺ were associated with the Greek and Roman figures Asklepios and Salus, but also the Uraeus π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†— in Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–.  Snakes π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜π“ͺ were also associated with the Wadjet π“‚€ and could be a symbol of the pharaoh π“‰π“‰» as the living god π“ŠΉ Horus π“…ƒπ“€­.


Jewelry was very culturally important in ancient Egypt π“†Žπ“…“π“π“Š–, and that continued in Roman Egypt.  Traditional Egyptian jewelry usually took the form of necklaces and rings π“‚π“ˆ–𓏏π“‹ͺ𓏦.  These pieces would usually also double as amulets π“Šπ“Šͺπ“…†π“ͺ, which would protect the wearer from evil. 


Rings π“‚π“ˆ–𓏏π“‹ͺ𓏦 and necklaces were highly important to the Egyptians because they took the shape of a circle.  A circle has no end, thus it represents eternal 𓆖 life π“‹Ή and love.  Rings π“‚π“ˆ–𓏏π“‹ͺ𓏦 that took the shape of the Eye of  Horus π“‚€, signets, and scarabs π“π“Šͺ𓂋𓂋𓆣π“ͺ were extremely popular, and then snakes π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜π“ͺ became popular much later. 


The pharaohs π“‰π“‰»π“¦ and nobility wore more expensive jewelry that was made of gold π“‹žπ“ƒ‰π“ƒ‰π“ƒ‰ and contained precious stones.  In ancient Rome and Roman Egypt, gold π“‹žπ“ƒ‰π“ƒ‰π“ƒ‰ was highly treasured and only the richest were able to wear it.

The snake π“‡‹π“‚π“‚‹π“π“†˜ bracelet 𓂝𓏠𓆑𓂋𓏏𓇛 in the first picture is meant to be for a child and is dated to the Ptolemaic Period (c. 332-30 B.C.E.). The snake bracelet 𓂝𓏠𓆑𓂋𓏏𓇛 and the snake rings π“‚π“ˆ–π“π“‹ͺ𓏦 in the second and third pictures are dated to the First Century A.D.