A must-have for jewelry enthusiasts, this engaging volume illuminates the ways in which jewelry has been used to craft and express identity.

Why do people wear jewelry? What meaning does it hold for the wearer? And what does the wearer hope it will convey to those they encounter—or to someone viewing their image decades, even centuries, later?

Artistic renderings of the human figure—in portraiture, sculpture, and other media—in a range of allegorical, historical, and religious images often showcase jewelry. The ornaments depicted in such designs offer an abundance of information that not only heightens our understanding of the subject but also provides insights into the imagination of the artist. Jewelry enhances our enjoyment of works of art because it is visually compelling, sensuous, and laden with an array of associations and symbolic meanings.

Bringing together spectacular and significant art objects depicting figures wearing sumptuous personal adornments that define who they are within the specific milieus in which they lived, this richly illustrated and accessible volume represents a novel, interdisciplinary approach to the ways in which jewelry can be studied and understood.

Yvonne J. Markowitz is the Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator Emerita of Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Susanne Gänsicke is senior conservator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.