The Ancient Art of Chainmaking
Necklace with large open-work disk and snakes' head closure, Roman, 3rd century CE (The Walters Art Museum)
A chain is a deceptively simple object, a testament to human creativity and craftsmanship. Almost meditative in its construction, a chain is formed through the repetition of the same action, as link after link is shaped and joined to form a continuous whole. Beautiful in its own right, chain can also serve to connect and suspend other elements of jewelry. For more than four millennia chains have linked jewelry, meaning, and history.
Gold necklace on a loop-in-loop chain with a cylinder seal and smaller chains connecting multiple pendants, Greece, ca. 300 BCE (Victoria & Albert Museum)
Chains are made from one of the most fundamental materials of jewelry making: wire. Although wire may appear simple, producing it in antiquity was extremely difficult. Before the invention of the steel drawplate—which allows modern jewelers to pull wire through progressively smaller holes to shape and lengthen it—wire had to be made from sheet metal.
Gold ingots were first hammered between stones into thin sheets. Despite the labor involved, ancient goldsmiths could produce sheet thinner than human hair. Narrow strips were then cut and rolled between flat stones to form wire with a spiral seam, much like a rolled paper straw. Because only short lengths could be produced in this way, the process had to be repeated many times. Some scholars believe that holes drilled in beads of wood, bone, or stone may have served as early drawplates to help standardize the wire’s thickness. (A spiral seam can be seen on the wire below the hinge in the image below.)
Close up of the back of a closed clasp on a pair of wrist bracelets in the form of coiled snakes, Greek, Ptolemaic, (The J. Paul Getty Museum)
One might assume that the earliest handmade chains were simple round or oval links joined and soldered closed. Although chains of this type did exist in antiquity, they were relatively uncommon. Ancient goldsmiths had limited capacity for soldering, and these chains were not very strong – they were quite literally only as strong as their weakest link.
The earliest known chains are actually far more sophisticated constructions known as loop-in-loop chains. In these chains, each link is fused closed, pinched into an intricate shape, and woven through the links before and after it – without the use of solder. The technique may have developed from fiber weaving or working with cord and leather. Despite the delicacy of the wire, the resulting chains are incredibly strong.
Fragment of loop-in-loop chain, Middle Kingdom, Egypt, ca. 1981–1802 BCE (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Across centuries and cultures, goldsmiths developed many variations of the loop-in-loop chain. Some consist of a single row of woven links (as above), while others interweave multiple rows in different directions—known as double, quadruple, or sextuple loop-in-loop chains. By the Etruscan, Hellenistic, and Roman periods, even more elaborate constructions appeared, including strap chains composed of multiple loop-in-loop chains woven together.
Estimates suggest that a typical Hellenistic Greek loop-in-loop necklace required as much as seventy-five feet of gold wire. Strap chains (as in the second photo below) could require more than twice that amount.
Gold loop-in-loop chain, Roman (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Strap chain with one decorated terminal preserved, Ptolemaic Period, Egypt, 332–30 BCE (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The earliest loop-in-loop chains ever found come from ancient Mesopotamia. Examples excavated from the Royal Cemetery of Ur date to approximately 2500 BCE. However, the sophistication of these chains suggests that the technique was already well established by that time.
Gold wire chain, Ur, 2600-2450 BCE (Penn Museum)
Another variation of the loop-in-loop construction is sometimes called a pinched loop or double figure-of-eight chain. These chains are made using the same weaving technique, but the links are pinched into a figure-of-eight shape before being woven into the chain.
Gold chain with central ‘Herakles Knot’ and decorative elements in cornelian and glass, Thessaly, Greece, ca. 2nd century BCE (Benaki Museum of Greek Civilization)
As soldering techniques improved, simpler link chains began to appear more frequently. One popular style across the Roman world was the figure-of-eight chain. Examples have been discovered in and around Pompeii, often paired with lunula or crescent-shaped pendants.
Necklace chain, Roman, 1st century CE (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Despite the time, skill, and gold required to produce them, chains were an essential element of ancient jewelry. Handwoven chains remain labor-intensive even today, as each link is formed and connected by hand. Modern machine-made chains can be produced quickly and with perfect uniformity, but they lack the beauty and character of a chain that is shaped by the hand of a goldsmith.
Continuing the Tradition
The chainmaking traditions of ancient goldsmiths continue to inform my work today. Each link is formed by hand, drawing on techniques that have been practiced for thousands of years.
Handmade 22k gold loop-in-loop chain using one of the oldest chain constructions in the world.
Solid 20k gold chain inspired by the Roman figure-of-eight style.
Handmade 20k gold chain rooted in a rare Assyrian design found at the ancient city of Nimrud.