Editing Jewellery (section)

==== Mesopotamia ====
[[File:Headdress MET DP226592 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Headdress decorated with golden leaves; 2600–2400 BC; gold, lapis lazuli and [[carnelian]]; length: {{convert|38.5|cm}}; from the Royal Cemetery at Ur; [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] (New York City)]]
By approximately 5,000 years ago, jewellery-making had become a significant craft in the cities of [[Mesopotamia]]. The most significant archaeological evidence comes from the [[Royal Cemetery of Ur]], where hundreds of burials dating 2900–2300 BC were unearthed; tombs such as that of [[Puabi]] contained a multitude of artefacts in gold, silver, and semi-precious stones, such as [[lapis lazuli]] crowns embellished with gold figurines, close-fitting collar necklaces, and jewel-headed pins. In [[Assyria]], men and women both wore extensive amounts of jewellery, including [[amulet]]s, ankle bracelets, heavy multi-strand necklaces, and [[cylinder seal]]s.<ref>Nemet-Nejat, ''Daily Life'', 155–157.</ref>

Jewellery in Mesopotamia tended to be manufactured from thin metal leaf and was set with large numbers of brightly coloured stones (chiefly agate, lapis, carnelian, and jasper). Favoured shapes included leaves, spirals, cones, and bunches of grapes. Jewellers created works both for human use and for adorning statues and idols. They employed a wide variety of sophisticated metalworking techniques, such as [[cloisonné]], [[engraving]], fine [[Granulation (jewellery)|granulation]], and [[filigree]].<ref>Nemet-Nejat, ''Daily Life'', 295–297.</ref>

Extensive and meticulously maintained records pertaining to the trade and manufacture of jewellery have also been unearthed throughout Mesopotamian archaeological sites. One record in the [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] royal archives, for example, gives the composition of various items of jewellery: {{blockquote|
* 1 necklace of flat speckled chalcedony beads including: 34 flat speckled chalcedony bead, [and] 35 gold fluted beads, in groups of five.
* 1 necklace of flat speckled chalcedony beads including: 39 flat speckled chalcedony beads, [with] 41 fluted beads in a group that make up the hanging device.
* 1 necklace with rounded lapis lazuli beads including: 28 rounded lapis lazuli beads, [and] 29 fluted beads for its clasp.<ref>Nemet-Nejat, ''Daily Life'', 297.</ref>
}}

<gallery widths="170px" heights="170px">
Necklace beads MET DP104225.jpg|Sumerian necklace beads; 2600–2500 BC; gold and lapis lazuli; length: {{convert|54|cm}}; Metropolitan Museum of Art
Necklace MET an33.35.47.jpg|Necklace; 2600–2500 BC; gold and [[lapis lazuli]]; length: {{convert|22.5|cm}}; [[Royal Cemetery at Ur]] (Iraq); Metropolitan Museum of Art
Earrings from Shulgi.JPG|Pair of earrings with cuneiform inscriptions, 2093–2046 BC; gold; [[Sulaymaniyah Museum]] ([[Sulaymaniyah]], Iraq)
Reconstructed sumerian headgear necklaces british museum.JPG|Sumerian necklaces and headgear discovered in the royal (and individual) graves of the Royal Cemetery at Ur, showing the way they may have been worn, in [[British Museum]] (London)
</gallery>