The Symbolism of Snake Jewellery in the Victorian Era
In the Victorian era, snake jewellery held rich and multifaceted symbolic meanings, reflecting the complex social and cultural landscape of the time.
What Does Snake Jewellery Mean?
Snake jewellery most often symbolises eternal love, rebirth and protection. A snake biting its own tail forms an unbroken circle, making it one of the oldest symbols of eternity, while the snake's ability to shed its skin has long represented renewal. Across different cultures and centuries, it has also stood for wisdom, healing and power.
Serpent motifs became particularly prominent during the reign of Queen Victoria, who received an engagement ring from Prince Albert featuring a snake with an emerald-set head and ruby eyes. This sparked a fascination with snake-inspired designs, making them a defining trend of the Victorian era.
A sketch of Queen Victoria's engagement ring
Today the ring is believed to have been buried with Queen Victoria at the Royal Mausoleum at Frogmore.
The royal endorsement of snake jewellery significantly popularised snake symbolism in jewellery. The snake represented several powerful concepts during this period:
- Eternal Love and Commitment: The snake biting its own tail (known as an ouroboros) was a symbol of eternal love, infinity, and marital devotion. In engagement and wedding rings, snake designs symbolise an unbreakable, cyclical bond between partners. In other Victorian jewellery such as pendants, brooches and necklaces, this ancient symbol represented endless commitment and the cyclical nature of life. Jewellers crafted these pieces in gold, often embellishing them with precious stones. The ouroboros reflected the Victorian fascination with love, spirituality, and the mysteries of existence, transforming an ancient symbol into a romantic statement of unbreakable devotion.
Victorian Diamond and Enamel Snake Necklace Biting its Tail. Circa 1870-80
- Wisdom and Temptation: Drawing from biblical imagery of the Garden of Eden, snakes simultaneously represented wisdom and moral complexity. They embodied both enlightenment and potential moral danger, reflecting Victorian society's nuanced attitudes toward sexuality and morality.
- Mysticism and Exoticism: The Victorian fascination with archaeological discoveries and exotic cultures meant snake imagery often suggested mystical knowledge, particularly influences from ancient Egyptian and Oriental cultures. The Victorians often represented nature in jewellery, reflecting the period's relationship with the natural world during a time of rapid industrialisation and scientific discovery.
- Romantic Sentiment: Intricate snake jewellery frequently incorporated gemstones: emeralds for eyes, ruby scales, or diamond-encrusted bodies, making them not just symbolic but also stunning pieces of decorative art.
Materials and designs varied widely, from delicate gold filigree to more elaborate, jewel-encrusted pieces. Brooches, rings, bracelets, and necklaces all featured snake motifs, demonstrating the breadth of this symbolic jewellery trend.
Snake Jewellery Through the Ages
The Victorians made snake jewellery fashionable, but the serpent has been worn as a symbol for thousands of years.
The Ancient World
In ancient Egypt, the rearing cobra, or uraeus, adorned the crowns of pharaohs as a sign of royal power and divine protection. The ouroboros, a serpent swallowing its own tail, also first appears in Egyptian art. The Greeks and Romans wore coiled gold snake bracelets and rings, and linked the serpent with healing through Asclepius, the god of medicine, whose staff with a single entwined snake is still a medical emblem today.
Georgian and Early Victorian Snakes
Snakes appear in Georgian sentimental and memorial jewellery, where a serpent curled into a circle expressed eternal love and remembrance. Queen Victoria wore a snake bracelet at her first Privy Council in 1837, three years before her famous engagement ring from Albert.
Egyptian Revival and Art Nouveau
Interest in snake motifs revived again in the later nineteenth century, as archaeological discoveries in Egypt inspired a wave of Egyptian Revival jewellery. At the turn of the twentieth century, Art Nouveau jewellers were drawn to the snake's sinuous lines. One of the most famous examples is the serpent bracelet designed by Alphonse Mucha and made by Georges Fouquet for the actress Sarah Bernhardt in 1899.
The Twentieth Century and Today
Snakes remained a favourite motif through the twentieth century, from flexible gold "snake" chains to bold cocktail jewellery, and they remain one of the most recognisable symbols in fine jewellery today.
What Does a Snake Ring Mean?
A coiled snake ring represents eternity and devotion, which is why snake rings have long been chosen as engagement and wedding rings. Double-headed snake rings, where two heads meet at the front, are often read as two people bound together. Snake necklaces and bracelets that encircle the neck or wrist carry the same idea of an unbroken, everlasting bond.
Victorian snake jewellery continues to inspire modern design through its romantic symbolism and intricate craftsmanship. Contemporary jewellers draw on the era's aesthetic, creating pieces that echo the snake's symbolic meanings of eternal love, wisdom, and transformation. From high-end fashion brands to boutique designers, the Victorian snake motif remains a powerful and elegant influence, reimagined for today's tastes while preserving its historical essence of beauty and meaning.
Explore the Charlotte Sayers collection of snake jewellery here.