Spiritual Mediation

Spiritual Mediation 

Jewellery is also worn for religious, spiritual or sentimental reasons. This function of jewellery is personal as the wearer has an intimate emotional connection with an item of jewellery with a spiritual function.  The wearer may wear sacred symbols, amulets or talismans that either aids them spiritually by protecting them from evil or bringing them goodwill (Metcalf 1998:4). Jewellery containing religious symbols or that has religious or spiritual meaning is worn as a reminder of their religion or faith. A person may also wear an item of jewellery for emotional reasons where a jewellery piece reminds them of a lost loved one or an emotional event that has happened in their lives (den Besten 2011:12). People choose to wear items of jewellery that sentimental to them as they trigger a memory or emotion when seen or touched by the wearer. (Damasio 1999:56) This intimate relationship between a sentimental piece of jewellery is “significant for the wearer yet invisible for the viewer” (den Besten 2011:12).

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. 

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

Portable Wealth

Portable Wealth

Jewellery may also function as a form of portable wealth, where the wealth is easily exchangeable and stored on the body or at close proximity for easy access (Metcalf 1998:3). The jewellery may be taken off of the body and sold during an emergency or crisis (Metcalf 1998:3,4). Jewellery pieces made from precious materials will naturally have a higher intrinsic value (Quickenden 2000) .

Pictured below is a 1/2 Oz Kruger Rand that is used to store wealth. This coin is valued at R 12250-00 (The South African Gold Coin Exchange & The Scoin Shop, 2018)

1/2 Oz Kruger Rand 2017, 22ct Gold

Status

Status


By decorating the body with specific items of jewellery, people send out a subtle message that they belong to a specific culture, class or social group (Metcalf 1998:3). This is the function of status. Without saying a word, upon one glance, other members of society can see what type of social grouping you fall under by the type of jewellery you wear (Metcalf 1998:3). 

The following image shows an Ndebele woman wearing a set of rings around her neck to show her status in her community. "The Ndebele wife would wear copper and brass rings around her arms, legs and neck, symbolising her bond and faithfulness to her husband." (Siyabona Africa 2017)

Ndebele Woman, Wearing Rings Around the
 Neck Indicating Status

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

Chapter 1

In this first chapter, the focus is placed on the explanations and definitions of the words of the title ‘Using Nature as a Metaphor to Create Contemporary Jewellery’. We will be exploring the definition of ‘contemporary jewellery’ as well as the functions of jewellery, organic jewellery, movement jewellery and the use of nature as a metaphor after examining various papers written by well-known academics in the field of contemporary and art jewellery including: Bruce Metcalf, Liesbeth den Besten, Jivan Astfalck, Kenneth Quickenden and Celia Rabinovitch. 

Introduction

Part of my Btech research revolves around the question "what is contemporary jewellery?"  to help me answer this question, I look into the physical meanings of jewellery, the functions of jewellery, the constants, issues and positions of jewellery. It is difficult to pinpoint the true meaning of the term and that it is up to individuals to 'settle on their own interpretations' (Metcalf 1998:1). Throughout my Btech journey, I will draw up my own definitions to this question based on the discoveries that I make from my research. 

What Is Jewellery - Definition

What is Jewellery? 

(Un Edited) 

Bruce Metcalf:

The true definition of the word ‘jewellery’ cannot be pin-pointed in one sentence due to the vast number of explanations that describe the term, however, according to Bruce Metcalf, in his paper Nature of Jewellery, he claims that jewellery can be seen as something in between garment and sculpture. Jewellery relates to garments in the way that it is worn so close to the human body. Garments, similar to jewellery, are worn on the body, but are different because garments are worn mostly for protection from the elements; jewellery is mainly made for bodily adornment and not to serve as protection from the cold. Whether jewellery is made to be worn on a body part, or it only possesses the potential to be worn in imagination, it cannot exist outside the context of the human body, as then it will only be regarded as sculpture, which is a three dimensional object made for the purpose of decoration. 

What is jewellery?

Bruce Metcalf:

Part of my Btech research revolves around the question "what is contemporary jewellery?" And to help me answer this question, I examined Bruce Metcalf's paper on The Nature of Jewellery where he focusses on the question, ‘where do the boundaries of jewellery lie?’ To answer his question; or to bring more clarification; he looks into the physical meanings of jewellery, the functions of jewellery, the constants, issues and traditions around the vast subject of jewellery. Metcalf suggests that it is difficult to pinpoint the true meaning of the term and that it is up to individuals to 'settle on their own interpretations'

To find the exact definition of the word ‘jewellery’ is an exasperating task as it cannot be described in one sentence as there are a vast number of explanations that describe the term, however, according to Bruce Metcalf, jewellery can be best defined as objects that fall in a region between sculpture and garment. Sculpture being a physical object that is viewed, isolated from the human body, garments, similar to jewellery are items that are worn on the body, but jewellery is not worn like garments to protect us from the elements. Therefore jewellery lies in the intersection between the realms of garments and sculpture. Whether jewellery is made to be worn on a body part, or it only possesses the potential to be worn in imagination, it cannot exist outside the context of the human body, as then it will only be regarded as sculpture.

In his paper, Metcalf talks about the five functions of jewellery where he describes the purposes that items of jewellery possess. These functions help us to understand the term jewellery more clearly and they are not mutually exclusive from one another as they can exist simultaneously in one item of jewellery. Metcalf suggests that 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 following purposes.

By decorating the body with specific items of jewellery people send out a subtle message that they belong to a specific culture, class or social group. This is the function of status. Without saying a word, upon one glance, other members of society can see what type of social grouping you fall under by the type of jewellery you wear. Jewellery may also function as a form of portable wealth, where the wealth is easily exchangeable and stored on the body for easy access. The jewellery may be taken off of the body and sold during an emergency or crisis.  Jewellery is also worn for religious or spiritual reasons to where the wearer may wear sacred symbols, amulets or talismans that either aids them spiritually by protecting them from evil or bringing them good will. They may also wear these items of jewellery to signify that they belong to a specific religious group. 

Bruce Metcalf's 3 Functions of Jewellery vs My Work.

Bruce Metcalf’s Functions of Jewellery and my own work

After reading Bruce Metcalf’s Nature of Jewellery where he discusses the three functions of jewellery, I looked at my own work to see where my jewellery fits in with the functions that he spoke about. The three functions are described as: Status, where the jewellery is worn to conform to specific social groups, Redeemable Wealth, where the jewel can be redeemed for a value in money; and Spiritual mediation, where jewellery has spiritual meanings in a faith.

Status

Although I may not have consciously made my jewellery to be worn by a specific group in society, I think that my jewellery is made to be worn by a small group of people in society and this is due to my personal interests and style reflected in my jewellery and choice of materials used in my creations. My jewellery is of more contemporary in style and does not conform to the conventional forms of jewellery seen in the larger market of the jewellery world.  Looking at the earrings pictured below, you can see that they are constructed using silver, pearls and Swarovski crystals, the wearer could be placed into middle to higher class social group, capable of earning enough to afford jewellery with luxurious trimmings. Also, the wearer can be pinned as eccentric, unique or ‘arty’ as these earrings are bold and move around when worn, drawing attention.

Redeemable Wealth

Looking at the ring that I submitted for the 2018 Platafrica competition, you can see a perfect example of redeemable wealth. This ring is made out of one of the most expensive metals, platinum, thus it has plenty of potential wealth to it. It has the ability to be sold for a large sum of money just due to the fact that it is made out of platinum. It also has a different form of value attached to it, particularly because it is a one of a kind ‘designer’ piece completely unique with no replica existing. It is also a special piece because it was involved in the renowned 2018 plat Africa awards and made by a previous Plat Africa winner (not to toot my own whistle). Therefore, one day when I am better well known for my contemporary jewellery, this ring and all my other creations could have the potential to have value regardless of the materials it is made from.

Spiritual Mediation

This function was a tough one for me to find in my contemporary jewellery. I don’t deliberately involve a spiritual aspect to my work like some jewellers do. After pondering about this for a while, I thought about how I use botanical forms in my jewellery and how they set alight my soul in an indescribable manner. I feel a sense of harmony when I look at and work with forms of nature. This might not have a direct connection with my God, but when I make things that I love, I think of God and how he crafted the world and everything in it, in this way I feel drawn to him. When I handle the jewellery during manufacturing, the short period of time that these jewels are in my hands, they possess the function of spiritual mediation as I have a personal spiritual connection with the pieces that I make.

The Nature of Jewellery and Jewellery of Nature

Below is a snippet of Bruce Metcalf's aricle 'The Nature of Jewellery' that appeals to my work.

"The sensuousness of jewelry brings up another constant that seems to permeate the history of the field. I believe jewelry is generally visual and ornamental, rather than conceptual. Let me show you two works done within five years of each other. The first is a piece of body- jewelry by Arline Fisch from 1969. It is very much a decoration placed on the body, the detail and structure of which was intended to create a rich and rewarding visual experience. As the model moved, the piece moved as well, making a second contour that echoed the human form. It probably made a subtle noise, too. It is first and foremost an object, and the experience of it is primarily sensuous."

In the above snippet, Bruce Metcalf states his opinion that jewellery is "generally visual and ornamental, rather than Conceptual" my opinion of this concurs with the above statement. Jewellery is primarily visually stimulating but what makes a jewellery piece exceptional is if it teases any of the four other senses. this can be done through non mechanical movement. Movement will stimulate the visual sense intensly and will also bring about a tactile element, creating the urge to touch and feel the piece. I have noticed the power that movement can bring to a piece, the floral movement prototypes that I have created in the past had some sort of magic to them that encouraged people to engage with them using three of the five senses

I feel that experiencing a sensual stimulating piece is much more effective and rewarding than experiencing something that is conceptual. The five senses were created to help humans observe their environment more effectively. When a sense is provoked, immidiately a trigger in the body occurs, almost like a subconcious reaction or instinct and this experience can either be positive or negative. Think about when you accidentaly touch something hot, your body immidiately reacts to the situation without even thinking about it, or when someone plays with your hair, your body immediately reacts with goosebumps in pleasure.