HEALING POWER OF TOPAZ

Gemstones have been an integral part of our lives from times immemorial. One has not only used them for adornment but also to improve the over all quality of life. Gems have an influence on our physical, mental and spiritual health. One such gem which has benefitted mankind in all aspects is – Topaz.

The name Topaz suggests fire according to the ancient language Sanskrit. Alternative account suggests that the word comes from Topazios, which is a Greek name of an island in Red Sea.

Topaz is an exceptional gem which comes in a variety of colours like red, yellow, brown, blue,  pink, purple and colourless. The most popular variety is yellow and blue and both the colours are used extensively for healing. Essentially topaz is an aluminium silicate  and these minerals are believed to have  outstanding results when it comes to healing.

In ancient times  yellow topaz was used to improve the mental health of a person, to dispel conflicts and anger from mind.  Yellow topaz is said to be connected with the energy of the sun and is beneficial for the navel chakra in our body (manipura chakra). This is where the solar plexus are located in the body.

Wearing topaz helps in treating an irritable bowel, which is a symptom of fibromyalgia. It also help in better assimilation of nutrients and aids  digestion. The navel chakra is also connected to one’s self esteem and confidence. Thus, wearing topaz also helps in boosting the same.

Blue topaz is also said to have numerous health benefits. It is connected to the energy of Jupiter and pertains to the throat chakra (vishuddha chakra) in the body. It is extremely helpful in treating the thyroid gland. Along with that it also helps in expressing one’s feelings efficiently and inner peace dawns  in  the wearer.

Topaz in all its colours is a remarkable gem. Along with having an exceptional visual appeal it also has an enormous impact on one’s over all well being.

Crystals are powerful healing tools, and one can use them to boost natural healing power. Although they might seem like inert objects, crystals are very much alive and have enormous potential to heal every aspect of one’s life. This is a small contribution of The Jewel Affair to bring to light this magnificent ancient wisdom and open an array of possibilities of self healing  for its readers!!! 

ART NOUVEAU JEWELLERY

An art movement is a philosophy of art which has been influenced or motivated by a certain idea or set of ideas. The style usually embraces every form of art from visual arts like paintings, sculptures, graphics etc. to, performing arts like theatre, dancing, singing etc. to literature, architecture and jewellery. These movements have a great impact on the society and can last from few months to few decades.

One of the movements which was short lived but extremely impactful was Art Nouveau (1890 – 1910). The movement went out of style before the First World War. Countries that were deeply impacted by the movement were England , France, Germany, Belgium and the United Stated of America. This movement was all about a romantic revival of arts drawing inspiration hugely from nature and had the intention to break free from the mediocrity of the previous periods.

INSPIRATION: Art Nouveau was inspired from a variety of factors, the most important being the dehumanising effects of Industrial Revolution which started in the 18^th century in Britain and then extended widely to many other parts of the world. Industrialisation was wide spread and mass produced shoddy goods had taken over. Decorative arts were dominated by poor styles and products. Dearth of creativity resulted in an artistic revolt against the brutal influences of industrialisation.

With technological advancements came in better connectivity and improved communication internationally, which allowed the Western world to open up to the East. Along with it, when the United States signed the treaty of Kanagawa in the year 1854, with Japan. It opened the doors of trade which were closed from 1683. Japan at that time was producing breathtaking arts and crafts. The western world was completely mesmerised and smitten by their style.  Simplicity, delicacy, elegance, balanced asymmetry, use of soft colour palette, flowing designs were the highlights of their craft and arts. Japan also participated in the London International Exhibition in 1862 which further impacted the European artists. It was a breath of fresh air for the artists. They were motivated to break the monotony of the past and reinvigorate what they saw as static design.

Various exhibitions that were held in Europe, showcased work from many other countries like Persia, Arabia, India and other oriental countries. Also social issues like, women fighting for equal rights in France to have access to better education and to be paid equally became a driving force for the movement.

 ART NOUVEAU AND JEWELLERY: Art Nouveau movement had a mammoth impact on the jewellery industry. Modern design concepts were flamboyant, exciting and intense.  Artists were hugely inspired by nature, sensuous forms and symbolism. They craved for good workmanship and intended to elevate the craft from mediocre to extraordinary.

Art Nouveau jewellery was poetry personified. This dynamic movement impacted many aspects of jewellery design, from concepts to colour palette, to gemstones and materials used for making the jewels. With the revival of old styles like that of rococo and celtic art, artists discovered the most important constituent of the style which became the backbone of Art Nouveau jewellery. It was the flowing, curved line which came to be known as “The Whiplash Line”. It was not only prevalent in jewellery but also in architecture and other forms of art.

To understand the style better it could be broken down into various aspects like motifs, materials and techniques used and colour palette:

MOTIFS:  Art Nouveau jewellers as mentioned earlier had turned to nature for inspiration. Nature was depicted in a raw and striking manner. Birds, reptiles, insects, aquatic creatures, flowers, leaves, transition of seasons and many more elements were weaved into the designs. Peacocks, swans, owls, bats, dragonfly, butterfly, bees, snakes, lizards and many more made it to the designer’s bench. Another motif which was extremely popular in Art Nouveau designs  was the form of a woman, partially covered which was shown either flying or swimming and it symbolised freedom. The inspiration for this came from French women, who at that time were struggling for equal rights in the society.  Jewels crafted were also seen incorporating figures which seemed to come straight out of fantasy land like, medusas, dragons, sphinx and griffons etc.

GEMS AND MATERIALS USED:  Art Nouveau jewellers opted for material for its visual appeal rather than their intrinsic value. This was a huge shift from the last two centuries. Earlier diamonds were highly regarded and the jewels were designed in order to highlight them the most. Whereas, in Art Nouveau diamonds  and precious gems were used sparingly or just to accentuate or complement the design. Opals were extremely popular in the period along with semi-precious gems like topaz, chalcedony, aquamarine, agate, moonstone, peridot, garnet just to name a few. Mother-of-pearl, turquoise, malachite, lapis lazuli were used as cabochons or inlays. Taking a break from perfectly spherical pearls used in jewellery earlier, Art Nouveau designs used baroque pearls quite commonly. Unconventional  materials like horn and ivory were also very popular. They were altered with heat and pressure to change the transparency and then stained with soft colours  and polished to give them a sheen. Enamels were extensively used to express the colour palette of this design movement. Various techniques like cloisonne’, champleve’, plique-a’-jour and pâte-de-verre were used to amplify the aesthetics. Enamelling was extremely useful for producing three dimensional effects, stained glass effect and for creating winged creatures in the jewels. 

COLOUR PALETTE:  The most impressive thing about the Japanese art was not only their concepts and simplicity but also the colour palette they used for expressing their thoughts and ideas. The soft pastel hues like mauves, lavenders, delicate pinks along with soft greens helped them portray the fragile flora and  warmer tones like that of magentas, oranges, deep reds helped them showcase the transition of seasons. These hues were also incorporated in jewellery and it helped the artists express their ideas with ease. There was a lot of play of colour involved in the jewels created and use of these colours gave a very authentic look and feel to the jewels created.

Art Nouveau though was short lived but its impact was humongous. There are many more interesting and unexplored aspects of Art Nouveau jewellery which, The Jewel Affair will try to bring to you in part – 2 of this article.

References and Images:
Markowitz, Y. J. (2008). Imperishable Beauty Art Nouveau Jewelry. Aldershot: Lund Humphries.

EVOLUTION OF TIARAS

Tiaras by far have been one of the most spectacular kind of  jewels ever created, which have not only been worn by men and women of authority but also by commoners. These gleaming beauties symbolise eminence and power and have been used for ages in various civilisations for adorning the royalties and to honour men of rank. Every tiara has a tale to tell. A tale of mystique, fortune, love and evolution of society.

A tiara is essentially a  circular head ornament. It is a universal term used for head ornaments which encompasses diadems, circlets, wreaths and kokoshnik. A tiara is different from a crown. A crown usually embraces the entire head and is worn by kings and queens at formal ceremonies or when they address their people. On the other hand a tiara sits atop the head and is usually worn by women for  their wedding and other formal occasions.

The word tiara has Persian roots and it meant the high peaked  head dresses of Persian kings which were encircled by diadems( diadein in Greek which means to bind around).v This post is going to take you through a beautiful journey of how these tiaras evolved and made a significant place  in our culture.

Today what we see as a tiara evolved from fragile strands of flowers interwoven to create wreaths which literally means a circle of flowers and leaves. Wreaths were symbolic of triumph and achievement. They were worn by primitives for religious ceremonies and placed on the graves. Laurel wreaths were awarded to the  Olympic champions and myrtle which was a circular band of shrubs and white flowers were worn by the newly weds.

With the progression of metallurgy, these fragile wreaths were replaced by glistening gold and silver ones. Wreaths were decorated with foliage of different leaves and each of the leaves were conferred with unique symbolism.

The earliest signs of these head ornaments can be traced back to the ancient Egyptian civilisation, where they were worn by the Pharaohs and  they were offered to the Gods. They were even placed in the tombs of the kings and the queens.

Ancient Greece received limited supply of gold from Kazakstan and Altai mountains until Alexander the Great exploited the gold rich deposits of Persia in 331 BC. From then on Greek craftsmen, converted these temporary head ornaments into exquisite diadems.In Greece, wreaths were offered to the Gods with the foliage which was dedicated to them. For example, ivy leaves were devoted to Dionysius(a saint), wheat ears for Demeter (Greek Goddess of agriculture and protector of marriage and social order) and oak for Zeus(supreme deity of the ancient Greeks). These wreaths were also used as bullion and they further evolved into diadems, crowns and tiaras.

 

Wreath depicting Ivy leaves

Wreath depicting Oak leaves

Wreath depicting Wheat ears

The inhabitants of the ancient Etruria (a region of central Italy) worked more on the traditional wreaths and diadems whereas, the Iranian nomads also known as the Scythians developed an unconventional style of head ornament known as the kokoshnik which was more like a  stiff halo over the head.

 

Kokoshnik Tiara

The Greeks and Etruscans were known for their craftsmanship. The Roman empire was in awe of their skill and wanted to incorporate the same in their jewellery. However, they could not match upto the Greeks and Etruscans but played an extremely important role in the evolution of tiaras by creating gem set tiaras. These scintillating tiaras studded with precious stones and diamonds acquired a significant status in the Roman royalty and were truly an emblem of power, authority and status.

 

Roman gem-set Crown

With the fall of the Roman empire and rise of Christianity, tiaras and crowns were out of fashion. During the medieval period the use of tiaras was extremely limited. With the onset of Neo-classicism in the 18^th century,(a movement prevailing in Europe and America pertaining to design, architecture and literature) the tiaras came back as a big fashion trend with bold geometrical gem set designs. Later in the 19^th century when Napoleon came to power he tried to bring back the Roman charm back to the jewels. His wives were gifted breathtakingly beautiful parures and tiaras were an important part of those sets.During Napoleon’s reign cameos and intaglios were used widely and they depicted an important event from the history. He was finally defeated at the battle of Waterloo by the British in 1815. With the Britishers coming in, there was a revival again in the designs of the tiara. Designs from the 18^th century were revived and used along with classical designs.

 

Tiara from Napoleon's Reign

In England, there had been a custom of wearing jewelled head ornaments at the weddings from as early as the 15^th century but tiaras/wreaths became an essential component of a bride’s jewels in the 19^th century. The tiaras were in their prime in the 19^th century.

Princess Charlotte of Wales and Queen Victoria had worn floral wreaths on their wedding day in the year 1816 and 1840 respectively. Queen Victoria is said to have a great collection of tiaras. These tiaras were carefully created under the guidance of her husband, King Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Oriental Circlet is one of the most famous tiara which was created for Queen Victoria along with the sapphire and diamond tiara.

 

The Oriental Circlet Tiara

These trends which were followed at the court had a great impact on culture and fashion. Also, there was a norm that tiaras could only be worn by married women. Many English brides started wearing a tiara over their veils on their big day. This tradition flourished in the 19^th century. Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother wore the Strathmore tiara at her wedding in the year 1923 and Princess Elizabeth chose to wear the Russian Fringe tiara. This design was extremely popular from the time it was made for Queen Mary in the year 1919. In the year 1981, when Princess Diana got married to Prince Charles, she chose to wear her family tiara, the Spencer Tiara. And when Catherine Middleton married Prince William in the year 2011 she chose to wear the Cartier Halo Scroll Tiara, which was originally commissioned for Queen Mother in the year 1936. And in the most recent royal wedding (May 19, 2018)when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry , she put her hands on Queen Mary’s Bandeau Tiara which was commissioned for her in the year 1932.

Besides weddings, tiaras were made for the queens on various other occasions such as coronation of their husbands as Emperors. For example King George V, got his wife, Queen Mary a splendid tiara made when he was crowned as the Emperor of India in the year 1911. The Tiara was famously called the Delhi Durbar Tiara.

Tiaras continued to reign the fashion world throughout the 19^th century. But soon the art movements like Art Deco and Art Nouveau changed everything. Creative storms had wrapped every aspect of culture, from architecture to jewellery. There was a major shift in terms of design, the materials used and sources of inspiration. But tiaras stood the test of time. People never lost faith in this magnificent jewel.

In the present times, there is no dearth of creativity and tiaras are inspired by every aspect of culture and fashion trends. It has moulded itself to suit everyone’s need. Be it a model on the ramp or a bride walking down the aisle. It not only beautifies the wearer but also gives them the confidence to walk with their head held high. Tiaras rightly reserve their position of one of the most gorgeous  kind of jewellery ever created.