THE “TREE OF LIFE” SYMBOL IN JEWELLERY

• Main Authors: TEODOR-STANCIU Silviu, PRALEA Jeni
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Editura Universităţii din Oradea 2017-05-01
• Series: Annals of the University of Oradea: Fascicle of Textiles, Leatherwork
• Subjects: sign; technologies; material; product; silver
• Online Access: http://textile.webhost.uoradea.ro/Annals/Vol%20XVIII-No1-2017/Textile/Art.nr.%20228-pag.119-124.pdf

History and tradition play a very important role in the development of a society. Designed objects were and are adorned with signs and symbols holding various messages and aesthetic particularities. These objects have the ability of spreading emotions through their shape, material, finishing or graphic and are made using different materials, techniques and technologies. By particularising a sign one must take into account its orientation towards certain objects regarding the significance, the culture and the historical period. The sacred geometry, a sum of shapes with religious and cultural values, can be analysed from a scientific, philosophical, aesthetic and mystic point of view. The origin, the nature and the relationship between these shapes are considered to be determined by the surrounding universe. The symbol is an intermediary which favours the communication from the visible reality to the invisible, non-figurative one. One of the shapes with a symbol value, frequently used, is the tree of life. The tree of life is a symbol dating from the Neolithic, but still applied nowadays. Bearing information and witness of the history of a civilisation, the “Tree of life” symbol inspired the artisans and artists from different cultures, being graphically readapted, both due to the technology development, as well as to the society’s maturation. The present paper presents the evolution of the “tree of life” sign, the manner in which it followed the history and civilisation flow, the diversity of objects adorned with it through various working techniques, as well as its evolution through new interpretations in the jewellery design applications. The paper presents the experiment of making a silver pendant with the “Tree of life” symbol, reinterpreted and made using a 3D program.