Egyptian Eye from an Anthropoid Coffin

As ancient Egyptians would have it, their gods were gold-skinned with lapis lazuli hair, eyebrows and eyelids. The right eye was originally inlaid in an anthropoid coffin, which was shaped like the human body as compared to a traditional rectangular coffin. The eye inlay is made of obsidian, limestone and cobalt blue glass, which was […]

Gold Sandals and Toe Stalls

These gold sandals and toe stalls housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art were once part and parcel to the lavish funerary accessories of an Egyptian queen during the reign of Thutmose III in the mid 18th Dynasty. Gold was everything to the ancient Egyptians who believed that the flesh of gods was made of […]

The History of Jewelry

The earliest jewelry known to mankind was created by Neanderthal living in Europe. Some 115,000 years ago, perforated beads made from tiny Nassarius sea shells were discovered in the Cueva de los Aviones, a cave located on the southeast coast of Spain. In Enkapune Ya Muto, Kenya, beads constructed from pierced ostrich egg shells were […]