Egyptian Jewellery and Make-up

Items of jewellery included the wide neck collar, earrings, amulets, bracelets, armlets, rings and anklets; they also made elaborate belts and decorated wigs with beads. 

 

The wealthy made their jewellery from gold and occasionally silver, with precious stones including turquoise, garnet, emeralds, carnelian, obsidian, pearls and lapis lazuli. Poorer people made their jewellery from bone, wood, shells, copper and coloured pottery beads. 

 

Jewellery was often made for religious purposes; amulets worn in the shape of gods, animals and magic symbols believed to protect or empower the wearer. 

 

Specific pieces of jewellery were made for funeral purposes. Egyptians were very religious and believed amulets would help a person enter the afterlife. Amulets for the dead were called ‘Four sons of Horus’. 

 

Make-up was worn by both men and women, not just for beauty, but also for religious and practical purposes. Green eye paint worn along with black kohl under the eyes. Eye make-up had a practical use, it protected the eyes from the glare of the sun, as sunglasses protect us today. 

 

Women used dye from the henna plant to paint their nails and dye their hair, they coloured their cheeks and lips with a red dye produced from burnt or dried coloured clay.