The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-05-02
NECKLACES IN ALL AGES.
They Arc ornaments tor Women To-day
but once Were Badges of slavery.

ornaments To-day.
but once We're Badges OF slavery.
A beautiful necklace OF any Of the many diff
ferent kinds which one can SEE in the jewelers.
stores. when around the neck OF a handsome
woman. mast be said 10 improve her looks
greatly. The advantages which the neck, both
from Us position and shape, possesses as a
point for adornment were early seen by the
human race, and the necklace is one OF the
oldest OF human ornaments. From the very
first broad distinction WAS drawn between
the necklace which could be removed and the
collar which could not; the frs. being the sign
OF the free, the second OF the slave. Collars Of
metal were twisted or uteted UpOn the necks
ol clpiiycS or house born slaves, and upon
them The name of the owner or cOnqueTer was
rudely cut. This usage survives to-day in he
dog collars which are placed upon household
pets
The necklace however, could for many years
only be worn by the freeman. In primitive
states of society il was The badge OF the warrior
and was often made OF distinctive spoil OF the
chase or of var To this day one OF the most
valuable and coveted possessions ol the western
Indian is the necklace OF the grizzly bears
claws, proof that he has met and conquered
the gray terror OF the mountains. Among the
IartarS of the time ol Gen.hiS Khan the neck
lascc was often made oi human teeth, strung
together upon wire. This particular form Of
ornament Is found in South America in the
graves OF the Indians.
Of such primitive types n shells and bits of
colored stone comes from Egypt They we're
oi Two l,iEd>, ornamental aud what may be
called, Tor the lack ol better word, supersti-
uouS. The former were composed OF small
stones. Oi which hluc WAS apparently the
iavorite coluf, set in silver of gold and joined
together n chain. Tie latter, the armiets,
were made OF figures OF gods, from three TO
seven inches long Three OF four Oi these were
hung iu a Chain OF beads
bfsllt Hr,f
danger Ul Infection, misfortune or bad luck.
Sometimes these amulets had 10 gods on them,
bat were composed Ot cowries or bits OF stone
arranged iu the forms of locked horns, fish or
crcscrut>, cmAematic oi their supposed powers.
lus supcr>uu1uS power 0t the necklace IS
widely spread to-day among people who are
not very hign lu civilization. In South Amer
ica there are found necklaces Of q peculiarly
marked seed which belongs TO plant growing
only on the mountains along the snow line.
THESE seeds when first gathered are blue IN
color and are strung on strings. They are
highly valued, not only TOR their beauty, but be-
cause Oi the great dilhculty In obtaining them
Ia The old graves which arc found now and
then strings 0f these seeds are often discovered,
and they are supposed 20 bring the greatest
possible luck, especially TO children.
But one docs not have To 90 among the poems
OF South America or the negroes OF Africa with
their gee gee necklaces 10 ind evidence Of
superstition. Thousands of people place
babies with the belief that they will assist the
childrcn in teething, and there are many per-
sons who wear neclaces all the time thinking
that they bring luck. The Southern negroes
constantly wear their bead necklaces looking
upon them as genuine charms, and they arc
very particular about keeping them intact,
holding that the charm is broken If even the
relative positions OF the beads should be altered
when wear makes a new string necessary. The
common practice among some religious sets or
,Vaa arip fa1l los N
a chain or string is akin TO this necklace idea,
and in fact is variant OF II.
Among men who have worn the necklace
must be ranked the warriors of ancient times.
The gold tOrques of the Celts, the massive gold
necklaces Of the MedeS, Etruscans and Egyptians
which form the most valuable insignia Of the
warrior class have come down TO us through the
pictures IN the tOmbs and the actual specimens
In the tOmbS themselves. Some OF these were
enormously costly They were bestowed as g.
rewards of valor and rs marks of civic distinc-
ton. The latter survive to-day in the gold
chains OF office worn by the mayors OF cities IN
the oid world.
All orders of kniehthood had the necklace or
collar rs principal insinium, and this custom
OF decoration With Tie necklace dates back at
least far the time of Joseph, for as
mark of his authority IN Egypt Pharaoh put a
gold chain about his neck" The women Of
antiquity rarely wore them except as brides,
when 90 mark the respect la which they were
held necklaces were placed upon them. The
necklace, however, was a prominent adOrn-
ment oi The statues of the gods.
The ornament of the necklace was valued
that when the Saxon dynasty was OverthrOwn
by the NormJnS all persons below a certain
rank were forbidden 10 wear them under heavy
penalties. In tiv reign of Henry VIII, that
King celebrated both Tor hiS wives and his re-
volt against Rome, anyone who had not 600
per year income could not wear necklace.
AZ that time however, they became the COM
mon ornament OF women, and in the Eliza
lciiian damatiStS there are many illusions TO
them. In England amber has always been one
OF the favOrto materials tor the necklace.
Even in the harrnws of the early Britains
amber beads are found, and the specimens OF
necklaces from the reign OF Charles j. have
amber set in gold. The Puritans abolished
them as they abolished everything they laid
thcir hands on which sJyor.! of ornament. but
the necklace was revived again under the
merry monarch more extrayagantly than be-
fore. II gradually came To consist of several
chains hung around the neck, each reaching
further down than ihe one before. To the
lot ecSt was hang the whistle of gold or silver
used as q call for servants. These necklaces
were OF all matcrials-gold, silver, amber,
beads Jewels or medallons. Some OF them
cost very large sums Of money.