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You're built to win it. Welcome to snoozecast, the podcast designed to help you fall asleep. Find us at snoozecast.com and if you enjoy our show, please share us with a friend. This episode is brought to you by Enduring Symbols. Tonight we'll read about the history of jewelry around the world from Jewels and the Woman, written by Marianne Ostier and published in 1958. Ostier was the principal designer and artistic driving force behind Ostier Inc. the New York Jewelry firm she founded in 1941 with her husband Oliver.

Maryann... behind Osteer Inc. the New York Jewelry firm she founded in 1941 with her husband Oliver. Marianne was an accomplished artist of painting and sculpture when she married Oliver, a third-generation Austrian court jeweler. The couple emigrated to the United States following the Nazi annexation of Austria in 1938. The majority of the firm's output was bespoke jewelry for private clients with few pieces ever produced in quantity. As a result, austere's work may be less well known today than some of their contemporaries, but at the time they were considered one of the finest jewelry houses in New York. Let's get cozy close your eyes

Relax your body into the softness of your bed

Now take a few deep breaths The earliest uses. There are as many guesses about the origin of adornment as about the origin of language. The most popular theories might be called the functional, the magical, and the aesthetic. When man first felt cold, says the functional theory, or when he first felt shame and hid his shame with the fig leaf, he had to find some way of fastening his garments. The leaves, the furs, the hides would slip off unless adequately held together, especially when the man was running in swift hunt, or the woman bending under domestic burdens. The first fascinings were probably strands of vine stalks, lashes of interlaced leaves. Then pins made of long thorns of wood, or of the bones of animals came into use. Pins of the last sort have been found in prehistoric caves. Naturally, iron, bronze, silver, and gold pins followed as the use of these metals became known. Crude safety pins inform essentially the same as those we we use today have been unearthed in the most ancient tombs. On even the earliest pins, however, and especially on the domed backs of safety pins and clasps, there are curious carvings of dots and circles and other forms which give scope to the second theory of the origin of adornment, the magical. For along with these fasteners are found necklaces of beads, and other adornments that served no practical end. Perhaps the earliest jewelry to which we can attach an owner's name was in the find unearthed in 1901 in the Royal tombs of Abidos. It is a bracelet of golden hawks, rising from alternate blocks of turquoise and gold, and it belonged to the Egyptian Queen of Zur, back in 5400 BC.

Somewhat later lived the Princess Nummit, whose mummy was adorned with all manner of jewels, Anglitz, bracelets, armlets, headbands, including a serpent necklace of beads of gold, silver,

and emerald, and hieroglyphics wrought in gold with inlaid gems. Egypt and the Near East A panel in one of the pyramids gives us a realistic picture of the interior of a jeweler's shop of long ago. The master craftsman, his bookkeeper, his workers, and his apprentices are all busy at their tasks. We see them selecting, cutting, grinding, firing, shaping, setting, polishing, with tools that have changed little in 3,000 years. The jewels we know today are all present their earrings, diadams, bracelets, rings, anchvets. The necklace seems to have been, in most cases, a wide, tight band, almost a collar. On many, a mummy, such a choker, has been preserved, studded with jewels, the gold between often in the shape of a falcon, or a lotus, or a sphinx. Favorite among the designs, of course, was the scarab. In the mummy itself, a scarab was inserted to take the place of the heart. Two ornaments common in ancient Egypt are not found in use today. One is the pectoral, a great but jeweled breastpiece, usually hung from the neck. The other is the golden wig cover. The great men and women of the 18th century BC, were long black wigs, in contrast to the great men of the 18th century. George Washington's inaugural wig was of course powdered white. Close fitting over these black wigs were joined rows of gold bands or medallions, be be in fine, fastened together, forming a complete cover that reached the shoulders. The bands bore hieroglyphics. The medallions were usually shaped like heads of man or beast. One other difference from later times for the the Snuff Box of the 18 18th century AD or the cigarette lighter of the 20th society folk in ancient Egypt carried a perfume box. The Egyptians had many rings including These were in tallios. That is, the design was cut into, hollowed out of the metal or stone so that when the ring was pressed on clay or wax, it would leave a raised design like a cameo. The design might be a god or a sacred animal, such as the scarab or a sphinx, usually with an indication of the identity of the owner. Thus the king's seal, and especially the king's signant ring, if born by a messenger, carried the royal authority, Jezebel, wife of Ahab, of the, used the seal of her royal spouse on the letters she wrote to destroy Naboth, who's vineyard they coveted. The Israelites, indeed, wore rings on their fingers in their nostrils, in their ears, and we are told that when they walked there was a tinkling about their feet. They also wore a gem pressed into the soft side of the nostril, a favorite spot for display through the near east, still adorned by a gem among the Hindus of today. The Israelites gave of these jewels and great quantity to adorn the tabernacle that was built in the wilderness, and also for the making of the golden calf. Legend has it that Solomon's wisdom emanated from a magic ring. One day he carelessly left this ring behind him at the bath, and with the water of his bath it was thrown into the sea. Solomon retained enough wisdom to suspend his legal court for forty days after which the ring came back to him in the stomach of a fish served at his table. A similar story of a jewel returned in the belly of a fish is told by Policreadies, tyrant of Samos in 530 BC. Like stories occur in the thousand and one nights, and the coat of arms of the city of Glasgow contains a salmon with a ring in its mouth, memorializing the occasion when a saint from the fish's mouth restored to an early queen her ring and her reputation. Another ring, as remembered by Chaucer in the Squires' tale, gave a man the power to understand the language of the birds. reader may remember that the messenger between King Solomon and the queen of Shiba was a bird that whispered in their ears. We gather such stories from early days, literally through a fabulous thousand in one night's. Although jewelry was a preeminent concern of the Egyptians, because they must be adorned not only in this world, but in the next, it was a lively preoccupation throughout the near east, the cradle of civilization. Babylonian tombs yield treasures and splendidly mounted jewels. A description of the goddess Ishtar descending through the seven gates to the ultimate world, pictures her at each gate, putting aside a separate jewel. Finger rings, toe rings, necklace, earrings, armlet. He passes through the final gate in unadorned beauty. Among the jewels of ancient Persia, from the fourth century BC, is a great necklace of three rows of pearls, almost 500 pearls in all, half of them still well preserved across the flight of 25 centuries. Westward to the Greeks, there exist some examples of Greek art in early times. A golden silver brooch in the form of a flower may have been shaped about 1400 BC, perhaps 500 years later, by the time of the Trojan War. There were inlays, entalios, even small plaques of gold with hoax to fit the ear. In the fifth century, when the great dramatists filled the theaters, Greeks were making filigree and enamels of fruit and flowers a bit later of the fair feminine form. By this time too, the Greeks were copying the designs they saw on or bought from Egyptian and Phoenician traders. This finks and the Scarab appear in Hellenic workmanship. Originators are held by their new problems to a sort of modesty and design. Immutators often striving to outdo, overdue. The Greeks grew far more elaborate than their predecessors. The great Greeks sculptors were delighted with the human figure which posed sufficient problems, either bare or simply draped. But outside of Statuary, and after the great fifth and fourth centuries, the wealthy Greeks in their ways of life had caught the fever of display. Their jewelry must surpass that of the eastern barbarians to whom they were bringing the benefits of Greek culture. From every medallion of a necklace, for example, might hang appendent, and this pendant might be a tiny golden vase which contained perfume, each vase a different fragrance, or which might open to reveal a series of figures, as later Baroque Rosary beads opened to reveal in minute carving episodes in the life of the Virgin Mary. 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 the eyelid, 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 diem or a cloth band.

Alexander's conquests, having taken the Greeks into farther lands, and introduced them to unsuspected spunders of the Orient, they carried home gems that before had been unfamiliar to them, the topaz, the amethyst, the aquamarine, a trusskin achievementsievements. In Italy, meanwhile, the Etruscans had brought the work of the Goldsmith 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 atrascans also made circular or oval bands of earrings and necklaces, within which appendent 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 atrustkins and granulated gold. On to a metal surface, they soldered tiny specks of gold, almost as fine as powdered, producing the effect of a rich grain. The artistry of the Atraskin work was so superb that when it was recovered during the Renaissance, Benvenuto Selene, the greatest goldsmith of his time, despaired of making successful copies of the Atraskin pieces and decided to shape designs of his own devising inferior as they may be. The Roman Conquest The whole Atraskin 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 potentiates pooled

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 bestotted 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 30 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 hair pins were 8- ten inches long. Rings were worn upon every finger. Great thumb rings were set with jewels, were made of gold and 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 petitions 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. a large iron key ring was worn by the chief steward of an estate. This opened the strong box, which might hold the dinner plate and other daily valuables, and within a recess of which nestled the treasure chest of the golden key. So great was the jeweled extravagance of the late republic that Cato the Sensor sought by legislation to limit the amount of jewelry one might wear. He also restricted the use of metal and rings, assigning iron, silver, or gold according to rank. Gold was reserved for the official ring of the senator, which he himself might wear only when on duty. Naturally such restrictions could not be binding for long. Sensation usually produces an exaggeration of what has tried to curb. in the early days of the Empire, everyone worth his salt manifested his worth with adornments. The citizens favored bright colors in their jewels, reds, yellows, blues. The drivers at the chariot, races, war, colors. Spectators bet on the red, the yellow, or the blue, and many a precious stone changed hands according to the speed of the horses and the driver's skill. If a lapidary could not secure precious stones large enough, or in quantities to meet the ever-increasing demand, he made imitations of colored glass. Although plenty cried out against his practice of making false gems, the usual purchaser had few tests to show when he was cheated. the vogue of the Pearl. The notorious Pearl-drinking dare of Cleopatra caught the fancy of the Romans. The serpent of the Nile dissolved a union worth half a million dollars and drank it as a pledge to her Antony. with the Emperor's favorite, Agrippa, we are told, secured the mate to Cleopatra's Pearl. She had this great Pearl haved, for the years of the statue of Venus in the Pantheon. The Vogue of the Pearl swept over Rome. disease of the oyster with its bluish-yverain bow colors of white, with its tint of beauty and its hint of underwater mystery, had indeed always been regarded as the queen of jewels. The Romans affected it to the degree of vulgar display, the historian Pliny, who railed upon many customs of the time, commented on Pompeii's having a portrait of himself made in pearls, and born in his triumph. Unworthy, cried the satirist, and a pressage of the anger of the gods.

Pliny also recorded that a young bride was covered from head to foot with pearls and emeralds. He waxed indignant at the fact that women had pearls set in their shoes, but so did the Emperor Caligula, while the Emperor Nero, fond of the theater, had pearls adorn his favorite players' masks. Not to be outdone by an Egyptian, Claudius, whose father was a favorite tragic actor, invited a great company to a feast. He dissolved and drank a large pearl, said that he enjoyed the flavor, and fed a similar gem to every guest. Roman luxury. The vogue of the pearl did not bring about the neglect of other gems. The Senator Noneas owned a great Opal. Valued had approximately $150,000. The Emperor Augustus coveted the stone. Rather than yielded to him, Noneasrew in daxile. Lolia Polina, wife of the Emperor Caligula, possessed a great chain of emeralds and pearls worth over $2 million. It is significant of the change in Roman ways that when the Emperor Tiberius once more tried to limit the wearing of gold rings, he based his restrictions not on rank, but on riches. Only those citizens might wear rings of gold, he ordained in 22 AD, whose fathers and grandfather's held property valued at $30,000. Jewels, always the property, were thus also made the prerogative of the hereditary rich. The tide turns east. from from Rome toward the east, with Constantine in 330 AD, went the flowering fashions to riot in Byzantine luxury. The eastern capital exceeded the declining city of the west, abandoned the barbarians and the popes, in extravagance, in colorful splendor, and a labrity intricacy of design, gems, no longer reserved for the showy jewels, or sewn upon or woven into the very texture of garments. In all this profusion, the crafts of the goldsmith continued to thrive, while the west lapsed into the done rigor of the dark ages. Eastward to India. More or less independently of the Western world, the making of fine jewels flourished in the far east. In India, the Code of Manu, about 250 BC, prescribed fines for poor workmanship and for the debasing of gold. A drama of the same period describes a workshop with pearls and emeralds and artisans to grind to clap as lazuli, to cut shells, to pierce coral,

and to make the filigree and other ornaments that have persisted in that part of the world unchain to our day. The far east's collections of precious stones and elaborate jewels have been as fabulous as their incalculable wealth. Almost to our generation, birthday gifts to kings have matched the monarch's weight in gold or precious stones. at the greatest period of Indian art during the reign of the Mogul Shah Jainan who died in 1666, the art of jewelry almost merged with that of architecture. addition to the celebrated peacock throne, the Shah built the great mosque at Delhi. And at Agra, the pro-mask, and that triumph of beauty, the Taj Mahal. This was erected as a mausoleum for his favorite wife, who is called the Adornment of the Palace. In addition to the designs and patterns of tile that are a feature of the mosques, the Taj Mahal is adorned with great treasures of the east. Jasper from the Poohen job, Turquoise's from Tibet, Coral from Arabia, Onyx from Persia, Saafires from Colombo.

It took 13 years from 1632 to 1645 to collect these treasures and construct the mausoleum. The memory of a woman may be buried there, but a beauty beyond description is preserved. you