قمــــــــــــة الرفاهيـــــــــــة
74 شواطئ
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Shawati’ 74
Qemat Al Rafahiya - Pinnacle of Luxury
التخريم المعدني، تعكس أصداء فن الأرابيســــــك والأنماط المتشــــــابكة التي زيّنت المســــــاجد والقصور والمخطوطات في أنحاء العالم العربي. وقد أســــــرت المنطقة العربية خيال الرسّــــــامين على مر العصور، فوجدوا في عوالمها المترفة ومشــــــاهدها الحالمــــــة مصــــــدر إلهام لا ينضب. ففي القرن التاســــــع عشــــــر، افتُتِن الرسّــــــامون المستشــــــرقون بالمنطقــــــة وبثرائها الثقافــــــي وتنوّعها البصري، فخلّدوا فــــــي أعمالهم العمارة والفضاءات الداخلية والمنســــــوجات والوجوه والمجوهــــــرات. ومن خلال لوحاتهم، تحوّلت زينة الشرق وحُليّه إلى رمز للغموض والترف في المخيّلة الأوروبية. ) بلوحاته 1895–1818 فعلى ســــــبيل المثال، اشتهر الرسّام البلجيكي جان-فرانسوا بورتالس ( الآســــــرة والثرية عن الشــــــرق، حيث نسج في أعماله مشــــــاهد تنبض بالأجواء الحالمة والبذخ البصري. وكثيرًا ما صوّر بورتالس نساء عربيات يتزيّن بأثواب مطرّزة بإتقان، ولآلئ وأحجار كريمة، وأوشحة ومجوهرات فاخرة، وسط فضاءات داخلية مترفة تعكس افتتان أوروبا بما تصوّرته من روعة الشرق وسحره. يمتــــــد شــــــغف العالم العربــــــي بالمجوهرات عبر قرون طويلة، شــــــاهدًا على تحــــــوّلات الذائقة الجمالية وتبدّل ســــــرديّاتها عبر الإمبراطوريــــــات والبلاطات الملكية وطرق التجارة وحركات الهجرة والتبادل الثقافي. واللافت أن حضارات المنطقة القديمة أظهرت خيالا خصبًا وبراعة اســــــتثنائية في ابتكار الحُلي وصياغتها، فحوّلت الذهــــــب والفضة واللؤلؤ والأحجار الكريمة إلى إبداعات متلألئة تأسر الأبصار. وعبر دروب القوافل وخطوط الملاحة الساحلية، اجتازت هذه القطع رحلات طويلة حاملة في تفاصيلها ذاكرة الصحارى والموانئ والبلاطات الملكية والممالك العريقة. وشــــــكّلت المنطقــــــة العربية، عبــــــر العصور، إحدى أبرز محطات التلاقي بيــــــن الزينة والتجارة والثقافات في العالم القديم. فقد نسجت طرق التجارة المرتبطة بصناعة المجوهرات وتداول الســــــلع الفاخرة شبكة واسعة ربطت الموانئ والمدن بعضها ببعض كعقد متلألئ من الجواهر، محتضنة حركة دؤوبة لتبادل اللؤلؤ والأحجار الكريمة والذهب والفضة امتدّت من الجزيرة
adorned in elaborate creations that reflected their power and status, while the masses wore more modest forms of ornamentation. It is interesting to note that the masses and all age groups, children and adults alike, wore some form of jewellery. Adornment was considered an inte- gral part of daily and ceremonial life, with men wear- ing bracelets, earrings, necklaces, and headbands, while women adorned themselves in elaborate floral orna- ments, statement earrings, layered necklaces, and dec- orative belts. Even children were ornamented with jew- ellery, reflecting their early participation in the cultural and social traditions of their society. Weaved in mystique, jewellery was engrained with di- vine abundance. During religious ceremonies, jewellery was offered to the gods, while on the other hand, it was tantamount that people were buried with their jewellery pieces to pave the way for a smooth journey into the af- terlife. Mesopotamian society also considered some pre- cious stones to influence individuals’ lives, linking birth- stones with specific planets. The excavations of the royal tombs at Ur, in modern-day Iraq, have unearthed more than 1,000 pieces of jewellery, revealing elaborate headdresses, necklaces, earrings, and ceremonial ornaments crafted from gold, carnel- ian, and lapis lazuli. Equally, the royal tombs of Nimrud, which date to the 8 th century BCE, comprised 1,500 pieces of jewellery, weighing an outstanding 100 pounds. The funeral ensemble adorning the famous Queen Pua- bi, found 4,500 years after her death, is too dazzling for words. Her finery includes multiple wreaths depicting floral and vegetal motifs, a trail of thinly crafted gold en- circles around her hair, and a crown consisting of seven flowers. Gigantic crescent-shaped earrings dangle from her ears, in addition to gold coils surrounding her hair. Layers of carnelian, lapis lazuli, and gold dangle from her neck and cover her entire chest in fanciful patterns and colours. Additionally, she was found with a choker featuring a rosette and a belt of beads and disks are laid against her hips. jewellery from Ancient Egypt continues to this day to in- spire conversations about jewellery. Back in its heyday, jewellery acquired a spiritual resonance. Gold, especial- ly, was highly prized, due to its association with the eter- nal radiance of the sun god Ra. Excavations of relics and treasures from tombs reveal a magnificent treasure trove held by Ancient Egyptian royalty consisting of intricate- ly crafted collars, rings, amulets, and bracelets adorned with scarabs, lotus flowers, falcons, and protective sym- bols intended to guide and protect the wearer in both life and the afterlife. Precious stones such as turquoise, lapis lazuli, carnelian, and emeralds were prized not only for beauty, but for symbolic and protective meaning. Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign in 1798 sparked a cultural curiosity on a grand scale. A team of scientists, scholars, and artists were charged with researching and catalogu- ing the rich history and culture of Egypt, spanning mil- lennia. The expedition had a rippling effect on the cul- tural circuit back in France, culminating into an “Egyp- tomania” frenzy that became a marked characteristic of the Napoleonic era. Following the discovery of Tutankha- mun’s tomb in 1922 by the British archaeologist Howard Carter, the frenzy was further spurred across France. jewellery maisons, such as Chaumet, Boucheron, and Cartier, unearthed a treasure trove of inspiration from Egypt and the entire Middle East, that shaped their
Necklace with Lunula, Roman [Jeweller], 1 st century CE [Imperial Roman], gold, agate [Roman Empire, Jewellery]. This necklace is composed of chain links and is decorated wtih filigree. © Henry Walters.
of ornament, commerce, and cultural exchange. Ancient trade routes cantered around jewellery craftsmanship and luxury exchange across the region connected ports and cities like a luminous rivière necklace, embracing an unsatiable exchange of pearls, precious stones, gold, and silver stretching from Arabia to India, Africa, the Far East, and the Mediterranean. These routes ensured flow of prized pearls from the Arabian Gulf to royal courts across Europe and Asia, while Indian craftsmanship and East African materials were disseminated through mari- time and desert exchange networks. To illustrate, carnelian beads found in ancient Mesopota- mian temples and royal burials reveal that long-distance trade routes once connected Mesopotamia with regions such as Arabia, Turkey, and the Indus Valley, transport- ing precious stones and luxury goods across civilisations during the 4 th to 2 nd millennia BCE. Mesopotamia, nestled in present-day Iraq and regarded as the cradle of civilisation, was an epicentre renowned for its multifaceted advancements that have altered the course of humanity. Amongst its distinctions is its mas- terful approach to jewellery-making. The Sumerians, for instance, are credited with jewellery design and cre- ation, as early as 3000 BCE, introducing sophisticated techniques, such as granulation and filigree near 2750 BCE. A palette of materials was common in Mesopotami- an jewellery, such as gold, silver, copper, and some gem- stones, like lapis lazuli, carnelian, jade, and turquoise, all of which were sourced from regions as far away as Afghanistan and the Indus Valley. Mesopotamian arti- sans were also credited with pioneering jewellery-mak- ing techniques. In Mesopotamian society, jewellery was deemed as a sta- tus symbol, demonstrating an individual’s wealth and social standing. Indeed, it served as a visible marker of hierarchy and prestige, with royals, priests, and nobles
[T-B] Jewellery in Mesopotamia played a pivotal role in social, religious, and cultural contexts, reflecting the region’s technological advancements and artistic achievements. Fine architectural detail at the Alhambra Palace in Southern Spain.
العربية إلى الهند وإفريقيا والشرق الأقصى وحوض البحر الأبيض المتوسط. ومن خلال هذه المســــــارات، وجدت لآلئ الخليج العربي طريقها إلى البلاطات الملكية في أوروبا وآسيا، فيما انتقلت براعة الصياغة الهندية والمواد النفيسة القادمة من شرق إفريقيا عبر شبكات التجارة البحرية وطرق القوافل الصحراوية. ولعــــــل الخــــــرز المصنوع من حجر العقيق الأحمر، الذي عُثر عليه في المعابد والمدافن الملكية في بلاد الرافدين القديمة، خير شاهد على ذلك. فهو يكشف عن وجود شبكات تجارية بعيدة المــــــدى ربطت بلاد الرافدين بمناطق مثل الجزيرة العربية والأناضول ووادي الســــــند، ونقلت الأحجار النفيسة والسلع الفاخرة بين الحضارات خلال الألفيات الممتدّة من الألف الرابع إلى الألف الثاني قبل الميلاد. فــــــي بلاد الرافدين، حيــــــث خطّت الحضارات الأولى بعضًا من أهم فصول التاريخ البشــــــري، ازدهرت ثقافة غنية ومتعدّدة الأوجه أســــــهمت في تغيير مســــــار الإنسانية. ومن بين تجلّيات هــــــذا الإرث الحضاري، برز فن صناعة المجوهرات شــــــاهدًا على مــــــا بلغته المنطقة من براعة
Women wearing lunula pendants are also depicted in funerary sculpture and paintings from Palmyra. Funerary monument of Aththaia, Palmyra, 200–150 CE. Image courtesy of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston
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