ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY AMY HACKNEY BLACKWELL
In ancient China jewelry indicated a person’s social status;
the more expensive and elaborate the jewelry, the richer the
wearer was considered to be. Most people wore earrings and
amulets, charms used to ward off evil; they could be made
of gold, silver, and stones such as jade, bone, or clay. Women
wore headdresses made of gold or silver. Men fastened gold or
silver pins on their hats. Most graves of the ancient Chinese
contain pieces of jewelry owned by the dead person.
Because women dressed in long robes that hid the
shapes of their bodies, they concentrated on decorating
their faces, hands, and feet. Women spent a great deal of
time on their makeup. Th ey used powder to whiten their
faces, rubbed red pigment on their cheeks and lips and gold
makeup on their foreheads, and drew dots on their cheeks.
Chinese people were very interested in eyebrows. Th ey be-
lieved that only men should have natural eyebrows. Women
shaved off or plucked out their eyebrows and drew them
back in a more fl attering shape. Th ey used a black pigment
made from a metal ore, charcoal, or ink. Th ey might then
paste designs between their eyebrows; plum blossoms were
popular. Th ey worked their hair into elaborate designs, the
taller and more unique the better, and decorated their heads
with combs and kerchiefs.
Jade was a common jewelry material; people started carv-
ing it as early as 12,000 years ago. By the time of the Zhou
(1122–256 b.c.e.) and Han (206 b.c.e.–220 c.e.) dynasties jade
carving was a highly developed art. Craft smen made jade into
bracelets, rings, pendants, and other objects—some of them
elaborately carved. Th ey fashioned jade into charms that had
symbolic meanings and were meant to bring luck to the wearer;
for example, a dragon charm was said to impart status and
power to the wearer, and a butterfl y could bring longevity.
Fans were the quintessential Chinese accessory. No up-
scale ensemble was complete without one. Dancers at the
emperor’s court raised fan manipulation to a high art form.
Fans could be made with bird feathers, paper, wood, or silk
and were delicately perfumed. Silk was the fi rst luxury fabric.
Chinese people were wearing silk at least 3,000 years ago; at
fi rst only royalty could wear it, but soon it spread to the no-
bility and others concerned with showing their status. Silk
provided the background for the elaborate embroidery that
still decorates Chinese items today. Th e fi rst known Chinese
embroidery dates to about 1600 b.c.e. By the time of the Han
Dynasty embroidery covered nearly every piece of cloth in
the homes and on the bodies of the nobility. Women embroi-
dered cloth with a vast range of images, including landscapes,
wild animals, and geometric designs.
Th e ancient Chinese used scented gums and resins as
incense and to anoint dead bodies, though in the earliest
days they did not perfume themselves. Th ey scented rooms
to induce particular moods, choosing their incense based on
the eff ect they wanted to achieve. In the early centuries of
the Common Era, they made ample use of perfumes, scent-
ing their bodies, clothing, ink, paper, and cosmetics. Scents
could be made from Chinese camphor, Indian cinnamon,
and sandalwood and from gum resins, ginger, nutmeg, and
other spices from all over Asia.
People in the Indus Valley started making jewelry
about 5,000 years ago. Th e habit of making and wearing
jewelry quickly spread throughout India. At fi rst Indian
people made necklaces and bracelets out of beads of pol-
ished stone, clay, or shells. Around 1500 b.c.e. they began
working with gold, making earrings, necklaces, bracelets,
and other adornments. Women wore the majority of jew-
elry, oft en wearing several bracelets and necklaces at once to
indicate their wealth and status. Th ey also might wear rings,
pins, and headbands of gold. Around 300 b.c.e. people in
India began mining diamonds and other gems and incor-
porating them into jewelry. Indian people did not bury jew-
elry with their dead but instead passed it down to surviving
family members.
Indian women used many cosmetics. Th e Kama Sutra,
a manual written between 100 and 600 c.e. and describingJade ornament of four discs carved from a single jade pebble, from China, Eastern Zhou Dynasty, fi ft h century b.c.e. (© Th e Trustees of the
British Museum)
8 adornment: Asia and the Pacific