The presence of the figure of elephants in jewelry, dates back thousands of years, so its meaning covers much, and more originating in an exotic and millenary region as is India, with its saturated culture rich in stories and legends, where the fingers of the hands are not enough to count all their deities and animals represented finely in their jewelry and ornaments.
First associated with the Hindu God with the head of an elephant, “Ganesha”, which is the deity for them responsible for helping bring fortune, talent, abundance and removing obstacles from the path, it is not surprising that this animal has been syncretized in a figure of good omens and power, which was also the saddle of kings and that in Buddhism, it is said that Buddha was conceived by his mother, Queen Maya after her body becoming pink during sleep by the trunk of a elephant, so it is not surprising that figures of this beautiful and imposing animal decorate houses as protective amulets.
Likewise, jewelry, an exquisite millenary art, would not overlook this symbol of abundance and good energies, since in China figurines carved in jade of this pachyderm were made 10.000 BC, while emperors from different kingdoms of India wore it as a symbol in several of its ostentatious jewels, definitely associated with something good and protective, so it continued to be represented in the works of goldsmiths, jewelers and artisans, who later ended up arriving by trade routes to the West, because of the striking of this animal that It was represented in rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings and others.
In this way, the figure of the god Ganesha made way to the different pictographic representations of elephants, leaving as a legacy the faithful belief that his figure in different ornaments, as in the case of jewelry, would endow the bearer with good qualities with those this majestic animal is associated with, such as resistance, strength, honor and good luck.
Several of these beautiful jewels ended up astonishing the high society of Europe for the refined work with which they were made, generating in part the desire to possess these ostentatious works, joining the stories of the exotic wonders of that side of the world, in which the bonanza and riches were noted in the architecture, its art and clearly jewelry.
Currently represented in various forms and materials, the elephant is as current in jewelry as thousands of years ago, because it can still be found usually represented with the trunk up, from the simplest fantasy jewelry, to elaborated works made in silver, gold and other metals, sometimes accompanied by precious stones to give even more beauty to this precious amulet that continues inspiring and evoking after so much time, the fortune, protection and longevity that had been given to it from the beginning in Asia.
ALFA