Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-11-21
HISTORY OF EARRINGS
BARBARIs ORNAMENTS, AS WE'RE
RINGS, NECKLACES AND BRACELETS.
Origin of the Custom of Piercing Wo-
mems Enrs Ascribed by Some
to Abraham.
From the London Globe.

From the London Globe.
The threatened revival among young girls
of the custom of wearing earrings has
called forth diatribe against what is de-
nounced as a senseless and barbarlc prac-
tice. But earrings have never died out;
they are still commonly worn by ladies of
the preceding generation; 1t Is only that
fashion had decreed what was certain to be
temporary abstinence in the case Of their
daughters. Is 1t the unnatural though
harmless operation of ear-boring Involved
that has aroused the ire OF the advanced
opponents of the CUSTOM or can it be the
misfortune of their possessing ugly ears
and the dread of not following the fashion?
For 1t Is a fact that whereas the append
ages enhance the beauty of well-shaped ears
they accentuate the defects of badly form
ed ones. Earrings are just as much relics
of barbarism as are rings, necklaces and
bracelets; but the feminine nature will
have to undergo very great change before
the use of all or any is discarded. Accord
ing to a Mohammedan legend, Sarah, being
jealous OF Hagar, declared she would not
rest until her hands had been imbued in
her bondmaids blood. Then Abraham
pierced Hagar's ears quickly, and drew a
ring through it, SO that Sarah was able to
dip her hand in the blood of Hagar with
out bringing the latter into danger. From
that time it became a custom among wo-
men to wear earrings
Abraham's Gift.
Curious1y enough, the book of Genesis
enables the custom to be traced back to
the same people and to the same period
Among the presents which Abraham's SER
want carried with him when he went forth
to take a wife unto Isaac, and which he
gave to Rebecca at the well, was golden
earring of half a shekel weight" The
practice of wearing earrings must have
been a common one with the Israelites
while wandering through the desert, for
the image of the Golden Calf was fashion
ed by Aaron out Of gold earrings belonging
to both sexes. For very long period ear
rings were more or less peculiar to eastern
nations. At first the Greeks and Romans
expressed the greatest contempt at the
men OF the oriental nations with whom they
came into contact wearing earrings. Even
tually the Greeks first and then the Ro-
mans adopted the custom With the for
mer, however, it was the result Of mis-
understanding
The oracle of Apollo having declared that
II they wished to have good citizens they
were to put what they held most precious
into the ears of their children, msunder-
standing the gods meaning, they pierced
the children's ears and adorned them with
gold. With the Romans the fashion owed
its origin to feminine vanity; and in the
luxurious days Of the empire fabulous prices
were given for these useless ornaments, so
tiidl IL WAS SdlQ OIL roman mdCTOQS tndC
they often had whole patrimonies suspended
to their ears. One young aristocrat, by
name Galba, stole and pledged one Of his
mothers earrings, and with the proceeds
betrayed the expenses of a tour through
Europe. OF course, the most costly and
celebrated earring on record is that of Cleo
patra, which contained a pearl valued at
10000 sesterces, or nearly f1OO, 600. This was
the gem which she dissolved in vinegar and
swallowed at the banquet given to Antony,
in order to win the wager that 1t was pos
sible for a meal to cost such enormous
sum. Both the Greek and Roman men of
that period affected earrings, but with the
Romans the practice was confined to the
mobiles.
The Danes are generally credited with the
introduction Of earrings into this country.
On several occasions when the sinews of
at low ebb, the Danish women
came to the assistance of their men folk
by yielding up these ornaments to the melt
ing pot, while King Sweno was ransomed
from this source. That the Saxons, who,
doubtless, initiated the Danes, were ex-
tremely fond Of earrings Is proved by the
fact that a Saxon law expressly enjoined
that earrings and necklaces should. at a
mothers death, fall to the lot OF the daugh-
ter. After the tenth century however the
fashion seems to have declined throughout
Europe, and earrings are neither found in
graves nor seen In paintings or sculptures
The wearing of them was reintroduced into
England in the sixteenth century, and
Stubs, writing in the time of Queen Eliza
beth, says: The women are not ashamed to
make holes in their ears, whereat they hang
rings and other jewels of gold and precious
stones" But what would Stubs have said
II he had lived to see men thus adjoining
themselves. which became the vogue shortly
afterward? For example. in the famous
Chandos portrait, Shakespeare is depicted
with earrings; while II one closely scruti-
nizes the pictures Of the great mobiles Of the
day, it will be found that many Of them are
wearing left earring only. usually pearl
In the seventeenth century earrings were
1xyE 1ichr nf h rth ND
position, the fashion becoming transferred
to sailors, who have retained the use Of
them, commonly In the form Of gold hoops,
down to our own time. 1t has long been
a common belief among seafaring men of
all nations that the wearing Of earrings
strengthens the eyesight and Is a certain
cure for sore and bleary eyes
The EyesiGht Theory.
AS matter Of fact, the strengthening
of-the-eyesight theory is general accepted
by the educated classes as well, for one
often hears of ladies who firmly believe
that they have benefited accordingly. Let
II be said at once. however, that this popu-
lar theory has never obtained medical ia
vor 1t Is, indeed. nothing more than a
superstition: probably a corruption of that
which taught that anything representing
the solar system would, If worn either on
the finger, or on the arm, or in the ear, act
as a talisman. In the case OF Inflammation
OF the eyes, however, it is just possible that
ear-piercing might once have been adopted
as a modification Of the old drastic coun-
ter-irritant that took the form Of inserting
seton.
From Elizabethan days the use Of ear
rings by women has continued to the pres
ent time. The shape Of the ornament,
however, changes completely with the fash
by smaller ones and these by single stones
in almost invisible citations. set close to the