Hilary Wilson on… Earrings

The products of ancient Egyptian jewellery workshops form some of the most attractive museum displays around the world. From the bracelets in the First Dynasty Tomb of Djer to the sets of jewellery of the Twelfth Dynasty royal ladies from Lahun, the skills of the goldsmiths and lapidaries are apparent. Grave goods from non-royal cemeteries from the Predynastic Period onwards reveal how beads and amulets made of natural stones or faience were worn by ordinary Egyptians, both men and women. Tomb images from the Old and Middle Kingdoms illustrate how wealth and status were displayed by the wearing of bangles and armlets, necklaces and collars, girdles and diadems. However, excavation of the Roy