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Silver History
History of Silver Through
the Ages
by Sandra Cheek |
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Silver has been known as a
precious metal since ancient
times, when people in
ancient Egypt used the metal
in jewelry and ceremonial
ornamentation. The Egyptians
were trading for silver and
acquiring it as tribute,
possibly as far back as
5,000 BC. Tombs have been
discovered as far back
as 2,900 BC .
The bright color and
workable properties of
silver have surely
contributed to the wide use
of the metal, and the rarity
of it has placed it second
only to gold in terms of
value since ancient times
(although we now have metals
that we value more greatly
than even gold.) Silver
jewelry was worked with
gemstones or glass, and was
often work in cultures like
Greece or Rome to ward off
the “evil eye”. Other
cultures, such as the
Egyptians, wore the jewelry
as ornamentation. It was
prominently included in
burials as well as being
worn for ceremonial
purposes.
Ancient silver jewelry was
worked in several ways, the
most common being the
hammering of the metal into
the correct form, or the
casting and pouring of the
silver to create the
jewelry. This made for
somewhat crude jewelry when
compared to the standards of
today. Another method of
jewelry creation involved
the use of filigree
techniques.
Filigree is the art of
wrapping or twisting wire
into an intricate design
with soldering holding the
pieces together properly.
These pieces often featured
a frame created out of
stouter wire, which helped
to hold the piece together
against the strains of wear.
This practice was common in
many places throughout
Europe and the Middle East,
but was not a common
practice in Egypt.
Silver continued steadily as
a popular metal from which
to create jewelry, even up
to present day. The metal is
mined all over the world,
with silver rushes prevalent
throughout history wherever
a new vein of the metal was
found. These rushes brought
miners to locations all over
the western United States
especially, with towns
springing up over night and
vanishing as soon as the
mines ran dry.
Silver has been used often
in conjunction with stones
in jewelry pieces, and is
especially common in modern
Native American jewelry from
tribes such as the Navajo,
who earn a great deal of
their income in making
jewelry and other crafts for
us to enjoy. Today, silver
jewelry is so common that it
is sold cheaply and is not
even locked up in stores.
The jewelry is worked with
anything from glass to
diamonds, and continues as
an extremely popular
substitute for gold in
jewelry.
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