Pearls and Pearl Jewellery from the Earliest Times

Pearls and Pearl Jewellery from the Earliest Times

Pearls - the very word conjures up visions of opulence! How were they first found? Nobody really knows, but since the earliest times of pre-recorded history, human beings have coveted and adorned themselves with pearls. I can imagine the first person who, having found an oyster on the beach and broken it open, looked in wonder at the lustrous pearl lying inside and realised that they were looking at something of great value. Pearls began to be items of trade and barter as well as adornment.

In 2012 researchers at the Science and Archaeology of Antiquity Laboratories in France announced that they had found the oldest-ever archaeological natural pearl. It was discovered at a site in the Emirate of Umm al Quwain (United Arab Emirates) and dated from 5,500 BC – a Neolithic pearl! This pearl was not drilled and was found in a grave at the site’s necropolis, providing evidence that pearls played a special part in funeral rites. It is thought, from this and other finds, that the earliest pearl oyster fishing took place in this region (the south-eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula) of the world: not only in the Persian Gulf but also on the shores of the India Ocean. Certainly, you only have to look at images of the Indian Maharajahs and Maharanis to know that pearls were a major part of their ceremonial dress. The image below is of the Maharajah of Baroda and the seven-strand Baroda Pearl Necklace which was one of the most extravagant pearl necklaces ever created and was the most expensive piece of jewellery in the fabulous collection of jewels and jewellery that once belonged to him. The Maharajah has gone down in history as the greatest collector of jewels and jewellery in the 19th century, and some of the extraordinary pieces ascribed to his period of rule include, the famous seed pearl and jewel-encrusted carpet known as the "Pearl Carpet of Baroda," and an ornamental belt of one hundred rows of pearls!

Pearls were once affordable only by the very rich but today, with modern pearl farming and cultured pearl production, these fabulous natural gems are within the reach of more and more of us.