Body Adornment: Ethnographic Jewelry from Around the World

 Precious metals, gems, stones, feathers, shells, glass and even insects were used by cultures from around the world to adorn the body, serve as manifestations of wealth and mediums of economic exchange, acknowledge an individual’s cultural and social identity, and enhance one’s physical appearance. Explore the wide range of jewelry in the Hudson Museum’s holdings and what constitutes beauty from the Precolumbian world, the Amazon, and Native American cultures to Oceania and Africa