Functions of Jewellery

Functions of Jewellery

There are three functions of jewellery apart from the primary functions of adornment/decoration and attracting of attention (Metcalf 1998:2,3). The functions help us to understand the meaning of the term ‘jewellery’ more clearly and these functions are not mutually exclusive from one another as they can exist simultaneously in one item of jewellery (Metcalf 1998:4). Jewellery's largest primary purpose is to decorate the human body by aiding as an accent or a focus to a specific part of the body that falls under a personal desire to seem more sexually attractive or that conforms with a specific cultural practice. Addition to these functions, jewellery also has the function to give status, a form of portable wealth and to aid in spiritual mediation.

Below is an image of a dragonfly pendant that I made for a customer. The symbol of dragonfly is significant to her as it reminds her of her late mother, thus it falls under the category of spiritual mediation. 

Figure 1 – van der Linden, A., (2019) Dragonfly Pendant, 
Sterling Silver and Amethyst Cubic Zirconia