HoiJuisl PENDANT ORNAMENTS. 255 



PENDANTS. 



It would probably be vaiu to attempt to determine how pendant or- 

 naments first came into use, whether from some utilitarian practice or 

 through some superstitious notion. It matters not, however, whether 

 the first pendant was an implement, a utensil, or a feticbitic talisman ; 

 it has developed by slow stages into an ornament upon which has been 

 lavished the best efibrts of culture and skill. The simple gorget of 

 shell suspended upon the naked breast of the preadamite is the proto- 

 type of many a costly jewel and many a princely decoration. With the 

 American savage it was a guardian spirit, invested with the mystery 

 and the power of the sea, and among the more cultured tribes became 

 in time the receptacle of the most ambitious efforts of a phenominal 

 art. The important place the gorget has taken in ornament and as a 

 means of displaying personal aggrandizement has made it a most pow- 

 erful agent in the evolution of the arts of taste. 



As a rule the larger and more important pendants are employed as 

 gorgets, but vast numbers of the smaller specimens are strung with 

 beads at intervals along the strings, attached as auxiliary pendants to 

 the larger gorgets, suspended from the nose, ears, and wrists, or form 

 tinkling borders to head-dresses and garments. These pendants con- 

 sist either of entire shells, or of parts of shells, pierced or grooved to 

 facilitate suspension. The purely artificial forms are infinitely varied. 

 The character of the shell, however, has much to do with the form of 

 the finished ornaments, deciding their thicliuess and often their outline. 

 In size they range from extremely minute forms to plates six or more 

 inches in diameter. The perforations, in position and number, are greatly 

 varied, but as a ride the larger discoidal pendants will be found to have 

 two marginal perforations for suspension. 



These nicely-polished shell-disks afforded tempting tablets for the 

 primitive artist, and retain many specimens of his work as an engraver. 

 The engraved specimens, however, should be treated separately, accord- 

 ing to the class of design which they contain. Plain pendants need but 

 a biief notice, and may be treated together as one group, with such 

 subdivisions only as may be suggested by their form, their derivation, 

 or their geographical distribution. 



Plain pendants. — It will be unnecessary to cite authorities to show 

 that our ancient peoples were fond of pendant ornaments, and wore 

 them without stint, but to illustrate the manner in which they were 

 used and the methods of combining them with other articles of jewelry 

 in necklaces, bracelets, &c., I shall refer briefly to the literature of the 

 period of American discovery. 



The inhabitants of Mexico are said to have been very simple in the 

 matter of dress, but displayed much vanity in their profuse employ- 

 ment of personal ornament. Besides feathers and jewels, with which 



