Spanish jewellery-Gold and emerald pendant at VAM-01

WLA lacma Indonesia Bird Pendant ca 100 BC-AD 300

A pendant is a loose-hanging piece of

jewellery Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...

, generally attached by a small loop to a

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve ceremonial, religious, magical, or funerary purposes and are also used as sy ...

, which may be known as a "pendant necklace". A pendant earring is an earring with a piece hanging down. Its name stems from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word ''pendere'' and

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th French, ''pendant'' is the gerund">French language">French, ''pendant'' is the gerund form of ''pendre'' ("to hang") and also means "during". The extent to which the design of a pendant can be incorporated into an overall necklace makes it not always accurate to treat them as separate items. In some cases, though, the separation between necklace and pendant is far clearer.

Overview

Pendants are among the oldest recorded types of bodily adornment. Stone, shell, pottery, and more perishable materials were used. Ancient Egyptians commonly wore pendants, some shaped like hieroglyphs. Pendants can have several functions, which may be combined: * Award (i.e., Scouting Ireland Chief Scout's Award, Order of CúChulainn) * Identification (psychology), Identification (i.e., religious

symbol A symbol is a mark, Sign (semiotics), sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, physical object, object, or wikt:relationship, relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by cr ...

s, sexual symbols, symbols of rock bands) * Ornamentation * Ostentation (i.e., jewels). * Protection (i.e.,

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a perso ...

s, religious symbols) * Self-affirmation (i.e., initials, names) The many specialized types of pendants include lockets which open, often to reveal an image, and pendilia, which hang from larger objects of

metalwork Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals in order to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term, it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on e ...

Types

Throughout the ages, pendants have come in a variety of forms to serve a variety of purposes.

Amulet

Though amulets come in many forms, a wearable amulet worn around the neck or on the arm or leg in the form of a pendant is the most common. These are objects believed to possess magical or spiritual power to protect the wearer from danger or dispel evil influences.

Talisman

Similar to an

, a talisman is an object believed to possess supernatural traits. However, while an amulet is strictly a defensive object, a talisman is meant to confer special benefits or powers upon the wearer.

Locket

A locket is a small object that opens to reveal a space which serves to hold a small object, usually a photograph or a curl of hair. They typically come in the form of a pendant hanging from a necklace, though they will occasionally be hung from a charm bracelet.

Medallion

A medallion is most often a coin-shaped piece of metal worn as a pendant around the neck or pinned onto clothing. These are generally granted as awards, recognitions, or religious blessings.

Painting

Pendant is the name given to one of two paintings conceived as a pair. They usually are gift from couples and some cultures consider the act of giving one a marry proposition.

Functional pendants

Memmingen - Wallenstein 2016 - Ringsonnenuhr

Tools worn as pendants include Maori pounamu pendants. Shepherd's whistles, bosun's whistles, and ocarinas can also be made as pendants. Portable

astronomical Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest include ...

and navigational instruments were made as pendants. In the first decade of the 21st century, jewellers started to incorporate

USB flash drive A flash drive (also thumb drive, memory stick, and pen drive/pendrive) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. A typical USB drive is removable, rewritable, and smaller than an optical disc, and u ...

s into pendants.

Fashion pendants

Fashion pendants include a small creative piece often made from precious or non-precious stones and metals like diamonds or pearls hanging freely from a chain or necklace. These are generally worn as a statement piece or a fashion ornament.

Other types

* Harness pendant

References

{{Jewellery Jewellery components Necklaces Types of jewellery