PREHISTORIC (CELTIC) JEWELLERY
ROMANO-BRITISH JEWELLERY
The early ornaments of the greater part of Europe remained until late
times entirely untouched by the culture prevalent in Italy and Greece.
Though of great archæological importance, as revealing successive stages
of culture, they do not at the present demand very detailed
consideration.
The decoration of the earliest jewellery of Europe--that of the Bronze
Age, which dates roughly from about a thousand years before the
Christian era--is by means of spiral and zigzag patterns. Ornaments have
free endings, bent in spiral, snail-shell coils. The earliest were cast,
though the hammer was used towards the close of the period; solder was
unknown, and rivets alone employed. Gold and bronze were the only metals
employed, the latter being sometimes gilt by means of thin gold plates,
while amber is often found used as a jewel.
Some idea of these early ornaments can be formed from the discoveries of
objects worn by the ancient inhabitants of the British Isles. They are,
however, not very numerous or important until after the Bronze Age, and
until the Early Iron Age--known in England as the Late Celtic period--is
reached.
The ornaments of the Britons--that is to say the Brythons or iron-using
Celts--before they became subject to Rome are somewhat rare, for few
objects of value were buried in graves. Such as have been found comprise
bronze pins, brooches, torques, and bracelets; beads of amber, jet,
bone, and glass, and bracelets also of jet.
Golden ornaments, like those laid bare by Schliemann at Mycenæ,
concealed either as votive offerings or for the sake of security, have
been brought to light from time to time, occasionally in England and
more frequently in Ireland. Celtic literature and legend are full of
references to these golden ornaments, and classical writers often make
mention of them.
The simplest types of gold ornaments discovered in England are rings
formed of a rounded bar of equal thickness throughout, bent into a
circular form, and the extremities left disunited. Their material is
gold, so pure and flexible that the rings can be easily opened to be
linked into a chain or strung upon a thin gold wire. They were very
probably employed for barter, and are generally known as "ring-money."
Other rings, crescent-shaped, with ends tapering towards their
extremities, may have served both as ornaments and substitutes for
money. Others, again, are of gold wire shaped into a sort of rope, or
else formed of a simple bar twisted in an ornamental manner. It has been
suggested that the simple penannular rings were nose-ornaments, and when
linked or strung together were worn as necklaces; also that the more
decorative rings were earrings. But it is quite impossible to determine
their actual use as personal ornaments.
Massive torques employed by the Celts for the purpose of adorning the
neck are occasionally found of pure gold. They consist of a long piece
of metal twisted and turned into the form of a circle, with its ends
either terminating in a knob, or doubled back in the form of a short
hook, or swelling out into cup-like terminations. Some are formed of a
square bar of gold twisted spirally, others of a flat bar twisted in a
lighter manner, or of more than one bar twisted together.
[Illustration: _PLATE X_ PREHISTORIC GOLD ORNAMENTS OF THE
BRITISH ISLES]
Gold ornaments for the arms, known by the term _armillæ_, are sometimes
of the same thickness throughout. It is more usual to find them plain,
though twisted work was also applied to them. The majority have dilated
ends, or ends slightly concave. With others, again, these cavities
assume the form of a cup so expanded as to present the appearance of a
trumpet or the calyx of a large flower. On ornaments somewhat resembling
the latter the dilated extremities are flat plates, while the connecting
part, diminutive in proportion to their exaggerated size, is striated
longitudinally. These objects are usually described as dress-fasteners,
but the exact purpose for which they were employed is still a matter of
doubt.
Advanced skill in the art of enamelling is one of the most notable
features of the Late Celtic period, which itself extended from the
prehistoric Age of Iron and over the period of the Roman occupation.
This enamel, executed by the champlevé process on copper and bronze,
served for the decoration of massive bronze penannular bracelets, and
for bronze pins with wheel-shaped heads. In addition to brooches--all of
the safety-pin type--of an immense variety of design, other primitive
bronze ornaments, usually of the spiral form characteristic of Celtic
work, include torques, armlets, and anklets. The torques are mostly
penannular and have enlarged terminals; the armlets are often complete
rings.
For the most extensive representation of the prehistoric gold ornaments
of the British Isles one must look, not to England whose inhabitants
generally assumed the types of ornament in use among their Roman
conquerors, but to Ireland, where the Celtic traditions were continued,
and which has revealed vast hoards of golden treasure. In Celtic England
during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages the majority of personal
ornaments are of bronze; in Ireland, however, at the same periods the
greater number are of gold. The objects belonging to the Royal Irish
Academy in the Dublin Museum--perhaps the largest collection in Europe
of prehistoric gold ornaments--represent merely a fraction of what,
during the last few hundred years, has been discovered and consigned to
the crucible.
Usually described as head-ornaments are certain crescent or moon-shaped
plates of thin gold, generally decorated with engraved designs in
parallel lines, with angular lines between them, and having their
extremities formed into small flat circular discs. These gold _lunettes_
or _lunulæ_ are considered to have been worn upright on the head and
held in position by the terminal plates set behind the ears,[7] but they
were very probably worn round the neck. The finest at Dublin is of pure
gold, weighing upwards of sixteen ounces, and is richly ornamented with
rows of conical studs.
[7] Wilde (W. R.), _Cat. of antiquities of gold_, p. 12.
Torques are the most frequent of ancient Irish ornaments. The largest
known, over 5 feet long and upwards of 27 ounces in weight, is supposed
to have been worn over the shoulder and across the breast. It is the
property of the Royal Irish Academy. In addition to torques and gorgets,
neck-ornaments were also formed of beads of gold, and some of these have
been found accompanied by beads of amber. Besides torque-shaped armlets,
are bracelets composed of perfect rings; but the penannular type,
terminating mostly with bulbous or cup-like ends, is commonest.
A considerable number of the prehistoric dress-fasteners, known
as _mammillary fibulæ_, have been discovered in Ireland. A slight
enlargement of the ends of the penannular ring develops into a cup-like
expansion, which increases to such a size that the ring becomes simply
the connecting link between the terminations. The latter when flat are
generally plain, and when cup-shaped are often highly ornamented. The
finest of these fibulæ at Dublin is 8-3/8 inches long, and is of the
extraordinary weight of 33 ounces.
Among other gold ornaments are certain circular flat plates of thin
gold, usually about 2¼ inches in diameter, somewhat similar to the
plates discovered at Mycenæ, in that they were evidently employed for
sewing upon the dress. In the middle of the plates are small holes as if
for attachment. As regards "ring-money," and similar rings employed
possibly as ornaments for the ears or fingers, nothing more need be
said, as they usually follow the designs of those in use among the Celts
of Britain.
In a country like Ireland, which is famed for its golden treasures, many
strange stories of discoveries have been recorded, yet few have excited
greater interest than the now famous Limavady treasure, which in the
year 1896 was ploughed up at Broighter, near Limavady, in the county of
Londonderry, in a field not far from the shores of Lough Foyle. This
hoard--probably the most important which has ever been unearthed of
objects of this period--has been fully described by Dr. A. J. Evans in
Vol. LV of _Archæologia_. It includes the following personal ornaments:
two gold chains, a torque formed of thick twisted wires, and collar of
very remarkable workmanship. This collar consists of a hollow cylinder
formed of two plates soldered together, and fastened at the end by a
#T#-shaped projection and slot. The ornament is repoussé work, in the
trumpet pattern of the Late Celtic period. The style of work upon these
ornaments, particularly that of the collar, associates them with an
artistic period which probably dates from the first century A.D.
The year following its discovery the whole find was purchased by the
British Museum, where its presence at once figured as "another injustice
to Ireland"; while through the Press and in Parliament numerous attempts
were made to obtain its removal to Dublin. The Irish claimed it as
treasure-trove and maintained that its legal home was the National
Museum at Dublin. The British Museum authorities replied that Dublin had
missed an opportunity of obtaining it in open market, while they
themselves, having acquired it in the ordinary course of business, were
precluded by statute from parting with it. They further contended that
the ornaments were not necessarily of Irish workmanship, but might with
equal likelihood have been produced in Britain. Thus for several years
the dispute dragged on, until in the summer of 1903 the case came up in
the Chancery Division of the Courts of Law (Attorney-General _v._
Trustees of British Museum. _The Times Law Reports_, XIX, p. 555.)
Notwithstanding the ingenious defence of the British Museum, judgment
was given that the ornaments were treasure-trove, and by virtue of the
Prerogative Royal must be surrendered to the King. They were accordingly
delivered to the Crown authorities and presented to the Irish National
Museum by His Majesty.
ROMANO-BRITISH
Whatever races settled under the banner of Rome, they accepted
unreservedly its ornaments, dress and manners, as well as its language
and its laws. Hence the jewellery which dates from the Roman occupation
of Britain (i.e. from about 43 A.D. to about 410 A.D.) follows for the
most part the Italian designs, and at the same time differs but little
from that brought to light among the remains of Roman colonisation
elsewhere.
The majority of Romano-British personal ornaments are of bronze--in
most cases probably once gilt. Comparatively few objects of gold have
been found. Among the articles of female adornment that occur in the
greatest abundance are pins, which were used for fixing the hair in a
knot behind the head, though some may have been employed as dress-pins.
They range from 3 to 9 inches in length, and have heads of various
designs, terminating in some instances in a bust or in a figure. The
majority are of bone, many are of bronze, and a few are composed of
coloured glass or jet.
A few necklaces of gold and bronze have been found, but by far the
greater number appear to have been composed of beads of glass--in the
manufacture of which the Romans displayed remarkable skill. These
necklaces differ considerably in form and colour. The commonest beads
are spherical and pierced with a large hole. They are usually of one
colour, generally blue, but some are of compound colours exquisitely
blended, and a few have a serpentine ornament fused into the glass.
Beads of amber, pearls, and glazed earthenware have also been found.
A characteristic of Roman jewels executed in Britain is their
ornamentation with enamels. The metal employed is generally bronze, the
surface of which is ornamented by the champlevé process; that is to say,
it is incised or grooved out (though sometimes stamped or cast) in such
a manner as to leave floral or geometrical patterns in relief, and into
the sunk spaces thus formed are fused opaque enamels, principally red,
yellow, green, blue, and white.
This enamelling is generally found upon brooches both of the circular
and of the bow-shaped type. The fronts of the circular brooches are
flat, or raised like a shield into several compartments of different
colours. The pin, which is hidden, moves freely on a pivot, and its
point is held by a catch. The finest specimen, discovered in London, was
formerly in the collection of Lord Hastings, from whom it was acquired
by the British Museum. It is a circular flat plaque, the pattern on
which consists of four quatrefoils with blue centres on a red ground,
and four small circles of yellow enamel between them. In the centre is
the revolving figure of a dolphin (Pl. XI, 7). Brooches enamelled in a
somewhat similar manner have been found in France at Mont Beuvray, near
Autun, and are preserved in the Musée des Antiquités Nationales at St.
Germain.[8]
[8] Bulliot (J. G.), _Fouilles de Mont Beuvray (ancienne
Bibracte) de 1867 à 1895_. 1899.
Quite different are certain ornaments set with slices cut from rods of
millefiori glass, which were executed for the most part during the
decline of the Roman power. One of the most elaborate is a brooch found
at Pont-y-Saison, near Chepstow, Monmouthshire, in 1861, and preserved
among other Romano-British antiquities in the British Museum. It has an
elaborate pattern of chequered squares of red, white, and blue (Pl. XI,
6). Brooches of the Gallo-Roman and early Merovingian period appear to
have been also decorated in this manner.
Of bow-shaped brooches, or fibulæ, there exists a considerable number of
varieties. Among these we may distinguish the #T#-shaped fibula with
long cylindrical head, and a wide flat bow with sunk designs filled with
enamel. In another variety the bow passes through a horizontal disc in
its centre and assumes a form resembling a tassel. Another common
variety is the crossbow form, either with a spiral or hinged head. In
many Roman fibulæ the pin works on a hinge, but in the variety known as
the harp-shaped, the sheath of the pin is filled in with a triangular
plate, pierced or solid, and the head is slightly expanded to suit the
coils of a spring.
In addition to the more formal types of brooches, many fancy devices,
probably of Celtic origin, appear to have been in vogue among the Roman
colonists of Great Britain. These are in the shape of birds, fish, and
all kinds of animals, brilliant with various coloured enamels, which are
often so disposed as to indicate the spots or markings of the animals. A
remarkable series of brooches of this kind is in the possession of Sir
John Evans.
Bracelets and armlets, usually of bronze, have survived in large
numbers. They consist generally of a simple narrow ring, such as could
be slipped over the wrist. Some are pennanular with tapering ends,
others are closed with a hook and eye, while a few have their ends so
twisted together that they can slide over one another and so be taken on
and off. Armlets of glass, chiefly of a deep transparent blue, have also
been found.
Most of the varieties of finger rings already recorded appear to have
been worn in Britain. The extent of the Roman civilisation can be
measured by the number of engraved stones enclosed in their settings or
found apart, the majority of which must have been executed by lapidaries
on the spot.
Many articles, such as rings, armlets, beads, buttons, and amulets, were
formed of jet or Kimmeridge shale, turned on a lathe. In the Island of
Purbeck round flat pieces of jet have been found pierced with holes,
which are clearly refuse pieces of the turner--the nuclei of rings and
other articles. This material appears to be the same as that termed by
Pliny _gigates_. According to him, it was supposed to possess the virtue
of driving away serpents; and personal ornaments made of it were
particularly prized. There seems little doubt that the use of ornaments
of Kimmeridge coal or shale by the Romano-Britons was nothing more than
a survival of the Neolithic or Stone Age. "Great Britain," writes M.
Fontenay in 1887, with reference to the ancient practice of wearing
ornaments of jet, "remains faithful to its early customs; for at the
present day English ladies delight in adorning themselves with jet
jewellery." Fashion changes rapidly, but it will be long, one hopes,
before it again decrees the general use of ornaments of this
unattractive material.