These materials were cunningly and magnificently crafted into jewellery, fashion accessories, and hair ornaments that still dazzle us today. Strings of beads and perhaps an amulet for luck and protection often served as necklaces, but the most distinctive neck ornamentation was the Egyptian broad collar. These impressive pieces consisted of hundreds of small elements strung together in a circular collar that covered the chest, shoulders, and back. Particularly elaborate collars required a counterpoise at the back to keep them in place. The intricate and expensive designs of pectorals, elaborate pendants hanging from equally elaborate bands, suggest that these pieces of jewellery were reserved for pharaohs and their powerful friends.
Most extant examples derive from royal burial goods.
King Tutankhamun s pectorals are covered with symbols that extol his personal glory puns on his name, associations with gods, and references to eternal life. True finger rings, as opposed to a wire wrapped around the finger, first appear during the Middle Kingdom and introduce the well-known scarab into the Egyptian repertoire. Bored lengthwise and threaded to a wire ring, the scarab was often rimmed with a gold mount, but the underside was left visible to be used as a seal. In New Kingdom times, rings became more elaborate and some spectacular examples boast tiny three-dimensional elements such as a pair of prancing horses. Massive stirrup-shaped signets were also popular.