Heart Motifs in Art, Design, & Jewellery (Past & Present)
In today’s world, heart shapes are prominent in modern jewellery design. These motifs appear in many of the most popular jewellery pieces, from necklaces and bracelets to rings, earrings, brooches, and more.
Throughout history, hearts have been a significant cultural symbol, representing a range of experiences, emotions, and ideologies. For many years, hearts have been a popular choice for fine art design, especially jewellery design, in both mainstream and alternative fashion markets.
You may have worn heart-shaped jewellery pieces, but have you ever wondered about the meaning and history of this motif? If so, here’s what you should know about the artistic heart.
The Meaning Behind Heart Motifs
Hearts are often used as a universal symbol of love, making them a popular choice for Valentine’s Day gifts. Inherently associated with devotion and romance, the heart has become synonymous with commitment and adoration. However, hearts were not always known for their romantic connotations. Once, pictures of the heart were often used to represent specific plants and flowers in art and creative mediums. Other cultural influences have viewed hearts as symbol of safety or protection, especially against curses and spirits. Today, though, the sentimental affiliations of heart symbolism are widely known, even among those outside of the design world. Frequently, heart-shaped jewellery pieces are gifted from one partner to another as a symbol of everlasting love. This is now the motif’s most dominant affiliation.
Heart Motif History
The heart motif was not always not what we know it to be today. First used to represent love in a French manuscript from the thirteenth century, the heart was often pictured upside down until the late mediaeval age. Popularising during the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, especially in Europe, hearts became associated with court love affairs and the virtue of chivalry.
Heart-shaped lockets became a common jewellery item given to women as a symbol of affection. Later, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, hearts became more commonly associated with witchery, and they were often used as talismans designed to ward off evil spirits and curses.
By the Victorian era, hearts grew increasingly popular in jewellery design, largely due to Queen Victoria’s heart-shaped bracelet, which included charms to represent each of her children. Continuing into the twentieth century, hearts were associated with romance and marriage. Whether made from metal or featuring heart-shaped gemstones, heart motifs have remained a staple of the modern jewellery industry.
Modern Heart Jewellery Designs
Emma Rea Sterling Silver Heart Earrings
Today, hearts are among the most popular jewellery motifs. Often, they appear in a variety of different jewellery pieces designed to be shared by couples or to mark an important event, such as a holiday, Valentine’s Day, or wedding ceremony.
However, stylistic hearts are not the only option for modern jewellery wearers. In alternative fashion circles, anatomical hearts have become increasingly popular and continue to generate interest. These heart motifs represent the true biology of the human heart and tend to be associated with edgier themes than the stylised love heart design many of us are familiar with.
Frequently adorned with precious and semi-precious stones, heart-shaped jewellery is here to stay and is expected to continue enjoying dominance in the jewellery and design industries, as well as maintaining its status in other creative and artistic pursuits.
Looking for Heart Jewellery Items?
At Emma Rea Jewellery, I pride myself on incorporating gothic motifs, including ornate filigree hearts, as part of our semi-fine and demi-fine handmade jewellery collection.
Using traditional goldsmithing techniques in my Melbourne studio, I draw from Victorian and Georgian era designs to develop jewellery pieces that represent nostalgia, seduction, and self-expression.
Are you interested in discovering the rich and authentic collection of heart motif jewellery designs, in stock now in my online store? Explore the bespoke range of delicate jewellery items available only at Emma Rea Jewellery.
