Gold is a dense, soft, shiny metal and the most malleable metal known. Pure gold has an attractive bright yellow colour and lustre which, unlike other metals, does not oxidise in air and water. It has been a valuable and highly sought after precious metal for coinage, jewellery, and other arts since long before the beginning of recorded history.
Gold artifacts in the Balkans appear from the 4th millennium BC such as that found in the Varna Necropolis. Gold artifacts such as the golden hats and the Nebra disk appeared in central Europe from the 2nde millennium BC Bronze Age. Egyptian Hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold, which King Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was more plentiful than dirt in Egypt. Gold is mentioned frequently in the Old Testament and was one of the gifts bought by the Magi in the New Testament.
The European exploration of the Americas was fuelled in no small part by reports of the gold ornaments displayed in great profusion by Native American peoples. The Aztecs regarded gold as literally the product of the gods. During the 19th century gold rushes occurred whenever large deposits of gold were discovered.
Because of its historically high value much of the gold mined throughout history is still in circulation in one form or another.
At the top of this post is the first necklace I made using gold fill wire - my Crystal Quartz and Gold Necklace
Here are some more great examples of the use of gold from members of the Jet team:
3 comments:
Fantastic post! Thanks for including my golden rings.
Great post and lovely gold pieces. Thank you for including my little earrings.
This is great! I really love the variety of textures and the depth that gold can offer, and I think that your examples show this wonderfully! Thank you so much for including me and writing about this. :)
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