Two years have past since the Year of the Snake was celebrated on the Chinese calendar, but in the “bestiaire a bijoux” it is still an endless source of inspiration.
The history of jewelry with images of snakes goes deep into the past. Three thousand years ago people wore images of snakes as amulets that can give long life.
They believed that snakes know the secret of eternal life, because they can change the skin, each time, as if reborn. The snake became a symbol of royal power and deity in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians worshiped the goddess Isis, which is endowed with a crown in the form of a cobra Wadjet, who was a symbol of wisdom and authority of the ruler of Egypt. This goddess had the all-seeing eye of wisdom. The serpent Apophis personified the forces of darkness and evil; his image is found on the sarcophagi. According to the legend, Cleopatra loved to entwine her wrists with bracelets of live reptiles.
In Ancient Greece and Rome, bracelets in the form of a snake on the hands of Greek and Roman women had given them protection from diseases and fertility.
“Blue Snake”-a symbol of the Ancient Greek god of healing Asclepius transmits images of the water snake. The popularity of this reptile in the Roman Empire is documented by numerous finds of the Antonine era and later in the IV BC.
The serpent is associated with the femininity and sexuality. According to Jewish legend, the seduction of Eve meant definitely sexual abuse. Since the snake venom is used as a medicine, the snake is a symbol of health, the use of the image of a coiled snake around the bowl as a medical emblem bears witness about it.
The serpent jewellery appeared in Europe only in the middle of the 19th century during the reign of Queen Victoria. In 1840 Queen Victoria married her beloved Prince Albert accepting an engagement ring-snake-shaped ring with the head sculpted around a fascinating emerald. It was a true token of love that the queen always wore as a symbol of eternal love. The popularity of the symbol has reached its peak in 1860. Victorian jewelry is often used intertwining snakes that symbolize infinite love and sexuality, birth and wisdom.
In England the fashion came probably from India, where they have long been worshiped snakes. Snake creatures play an important role in ancient Indian symbolism as guardians earthly treasures. Interestingly, that there is a Jewelry Museum in Pforzheim in Germany, that features the largest collection of the “serpent” jewelry, from Egypt to Sweden, from Indochina to Africa.
From the 19th century snake moved to decorate the jewels created in the 20th century in the era of Art Nouveau with its predilection for natural motifs -plants and insects that features the items created by Rene’ Lalique and George Fouquet.
And now the serpent is not forgotten and still occupies a considerable place among the precious animals. Several jewelry houses have even incorporated the serpent into their Maison’s identity, using it as the central theme in several of their iconic collections: Boucheron, Veschetti, Bvlgari, Carlo Luca Della Quercia. Let yourself to immerse the unique world of fascinating serpent jewellery right now:)!