Jewellery
For Romans of all backgrounds, jewellery was a way to complete and personalise clothing: earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets were all commonly worn by Romans. The most expensive pieces were made from gold, embellished with pearls and gemstones, while cheaper pieces might be made from iron or bronze with glass beads. Silver was used for jewellery, but was more common for tablewares.
Like hairstyles and clothing, jewellery could also symbolise social status or political office. Under the emperor Tiberius, only freeborn men of the third generation, with a net worth of 400,000 sestertii were permitted to wear rings of gold.
The display of jewellery in public was, therefore, highly political. It was considered unfashionable for a man to wear more than one or two rings at a time, and pearls, imported from the Red Sea, were thought to be particularly luxurious. The Roman natural historian Pliny the Elder (NH, 9.56.114) said that, ‘Women glory in hanging these on their fingers and using two or three for a single-earring… when they have done this they call them ‘castanets,’ as if they enjoyed even the sound and the mere rattling together of the pearls.’
“Please, my dear Menaechmus, have earrings made for me, two denarii in weight, in the shape of drops, so that I’m happy to see you when you come to us.”
Plautus, The Two Menaechmuses, 542-44
Golden earrings such as these are the quintessential form of Roman luxuria. Most gold jewellery was not cast but instead was made from sheets of gold, sometimes hammered into moulds to create human and animal figures, or cut into fine patterns like rosettes. Semi-precious stones, glass, faience and pearls added colour.
Like other forms of adornment, jewellery could have an amuletic purpose, protecting the wearer or providing some benefit. Water-birds such as the goose were associated with love and with beauty, for example. Jewellery also denoted your social class and wearing too much was sometimes considered distasteful. After the disastrous Battle of Cannae (216 BC) during the Second Punic War, the Romans even legislated against women possessing more than half an ounce (14 grams) of gold, presumably in the form of jewellery such as earrings.
“[Gallienus] used a jewelled sword-belt and he fastened jewels to his boot-laces and then called his boots ‘reticulate’.”
Historia Augusta, 23.16.4
A Roman soldier’s sword belt included decorations known as phalerae. These discs, usually bronze, could be decorated with images of military deities such as Mars, or protective gods and goddesses. The Emperor Gallienus was censured for his use of an ostentatious jewelled sword-belt.
“A heavy ring often slips from greasy fingers, but your gem will find safety in my trust.”
Martial, Epigrams, 14.123
Roman men and women both wore rings with engraved stones called intaglios. While the intaglio could act as a personal seal or provide protection, wearing too many rings was considered tacky. However, some were practical such as this bronze example, which doubles as a key.
“Legend tells us that when Eriphyle saw the necklace - made, I suppose, of gold and jewels- its loveliness so excited the grasping woman that she betrayed her husband to his death.”
Cicero, Against Verres, 18.39
This stunning Roman necklace has been re-strung. Nevertheless, the vibrant colours give us an idea of the original. Roman beads were usually made from glass and could come in different forms. More expensive types were made from precious and semi-precious stones, amber or coloured metals.
Necklaces, and jewellery more generally, were sometimes seen as dangerous objects of desire, particularly for women. Cicero discredited Verres, the corrupt Roman governor of Sicily, by comparing his greed to that of Eriphyle, who betrayed her husband in the Greek tragedy, The Seven against Thebes.
“She had no need to spin soft wools nor to arrange her hair in studied elegance. A simple brooch fastened her gown and a white fillet held her loose-flowing hair.”
Ovid, Metamorphoses, 2.411-13
One of the most practical forms of jewellery was the fibula (brooch), worn by men and women. It was not as popular in Rome as it was in the western provinces, but a man could add a personal touch to his clothing by securing his cloak with a brooch. The usefulness of a decorative fibula meant that it was not considered effeminate for men to wear. Certainly Ovid, writing in the early empire, thought a simple brooch was the appropriate accessory for a wood-nymph, symbolising her simplicity and rustic charm.