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There are various claims as to which
culture produced the earliest earrings. Some say they were
produced by the Persians others say the Greeks then again others
say by the Egyptians but a recent archaeological site in China at
Xinglongwa in Chifeng city in Inner Mongolia produced earrings
which are estimated have been made between 5500 and 6000 BC i.e.
during the Neolithic period. In Egypt the mummified remains of a
man show him wearing earrings and dates from about 3000 BC. In
Persia the walls of Persepolis show soldiers wearing earrings
(ear plugs) but these walls cannot be older than about 500 BC.
There are countless examples in the applied arts and paintings
showing earrings being worn from very early times to the present
day. There have been periods when they temporarily went out of
fashion, but for most of known humankind history they have been
very popular and used in nearly every major civilization. In
India for example earrings were used by the Kanphata Yogis a sect
of Saiva ascetics who split their ears and wore large earrings
made of agate or horn. It would be possible to give endless
examples of historical depictions of earrings from just about
every country. Through the ages earrings were sometimes worn by
both sexes; to enhance beauty often to display wealth and
sometimes as talismans. It is thought that some of our most
famous Englishmen such as Shakespeare, Drake and Raleigh used
their earrings to demonstrate they were out of the ordinary. More
recently in the West earrings are worn to denote sexual
preference.
On our website we hope to build up a collection of earrings in
many different styles, made of different materials and from many
countries. There will be a wide price range. Initially, we have
sourced a large collection of handmade earrings from Sri Lanka,
however, that is only a starting point. We have already on
display very attractive and fashionable earrings designed and
made by Andrew Prince who is a very popular and well known
designer. We will be introducing antique earrings over a period
of time. When possible the enlarged image will show the earrings
being modelled.