EARRING, an ornament worn pendent from the ear, and generally suspended (especially among the more civilized races) by means of a ring or hook passing through the pendulous lobe of the ear. Among savage races the impulse to decorate, or at any rate to modify the appearance of the ear, is almost universal. The Berawan people of Borneo use plugs through the lobe of the ear 3 a in. in diameter. More extraordinary still is an example of a stone ear-plug worn by a Masai, 42 in. in diameter and weigh ing 2 lb. 14 ounces. Among the superior races, though ear orna ments of extravagant size and elaboration are not unknown, moderation in size is commonly observed, and greater attention is paid to workmanship and fineness of material.
The general usage appears to have been to have ear-rings worn in pairs, the two ornaments in all respects resembling each other; in ancient times, or more recently among Oriental races, a single ear-ring has sometimes been worn. The use of this kind of orna ment, which constantly was of great value, dates from the re motest historical antiquity, the earliest mention of ear-rings oc curring in the book of Genesis.
It appears probable that the ear rings of Jacob's family, which he buried with his strange idols at Bethel, were regarded as amu lets or talismans, such unques tionably being the estimation in which some ornaments of this class have been held from a very early period, as they still are held in the East. Thus in New Zealand ear-rings are decorated with the teeth of enemies, and with talismanic sharks' teeth.
Among all the Oriental races of whom we have any accurate knowledge, the Hebrews and Egyptians excepted, ear-rings al ways have been in general use by both sexes; while in the West, as well as by the Hebrews and Egyptians, as a general rule they have been considered exclusively female ornaments. By the Greeks and Romans also ear-rings were worn only by women, and the wearing of them by a man is often spoken of as dis tinctively oriental.
In archaic art, ear-rings are frequently represented or their traces are left in the perforated ear lobes of early statues. After the 4th century such perforations occur seldom. In one instance, a Greek inscription records the weight of the detachable gold orna ments on a statue, among which a pair of ear-rings is included. Ear-rings of characteristic form are frequently discovered by excavation. In Egypt, a system of pendent chains is found hang ing from a disc. In Assyria the decoration consists of pendants or knobs attached to a rigid ring. In the Mycenaean period, ear rings are infrequent in Greece, but have been found in abundance in the Mycenaean finds of Enkomi (Cyprus) in the form of pendent bulls' heads, or of decorative forms based on the bull's head. In the tombs of the Greek settlers in the Crimea (4th cen tury B.e. ), ear-rings are found of marvellous complexity and beauty. The lexicographer Pollux, speaking of the names given to ear-rings, derived from their forms, mentions caryatids, hippo camps and centauresses. Jewels of the same class, of exquisite beauty and of workmanship that is truly wonderful, have been rescued from the sepulchres of ancient Etruria. Ear-rings of comparatively simple forms, but set with pearls and other stones, were the mode in Rome. Researches among the burial places of Anglo-Saxon Britain have led to the discovery of jewels in con siderable numbers, which among their varieties include ear-rings.
These ornaments, which have never fallen into disuse, showed a considerable decline in Europe and America during the i9th century, but have been revived again in the loth century to the extent that they are not uncommonly worn on the street or with evening dress. The more recent ones do not pierce the ear and are considerably smaller. (See also JEWELLERY.) see ABALONE.