ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Women in Pearls: Memorable Portraits and Photos Through the Ages

Updated on February 28, 2018
Cyndi10 profile image

The former executive director of a successful nonprofit agency now content specialist, Cynthia writes about a variety of researched topics.

Source

Women in Pearls: Wearing A Timeless Gem

Women in pearls make a timeless statement. Whether the statement is one of innocence, sexuality, power, purity or wealth, the woman and the clothes frame the statement and the viewer interprets.

Pearls are most importantly a reflection of the wearer's interpretation of their meaning. Time and again business women remark that adding pearls to their "power suit" gives an extra edge to their confidence. Pearls with jeans say "I'm comfortable and I'm stylish." Pearl studs in a toddler's ears say "Im adorable."

Pearls are a favorite of the both the photographer and the painter. Artist have painted women in pearls throughout the ages. There is sure to be a cave drawing with a woman wearing an adornment of pearls in some manner!


As an organic gem that "magically" appears in the oyster's shell, pearls have been surrounded by mystery and mysticism throughout time. Possibly because of their round shape and their cool, white glow, they are closely associated with the moon. The next time you hold a pearl, examine the soft, iridescent sheen. In fact, some cultures in history thought pearls "grew" only in moonlight.

During the Crusades, pearls were thought to have the power to protect the knights from harm as they went into battle. In other cultures, pearls were a symbol of perfection and completeness. Still, with all other meanings aside, pearls were a symbol of wealth, worn by royalty and the wealthy of most cultures.

For your enjoyment, I have assembled an assortment of portraits of women in pearls. Some are simple, single strands, some are elaborate ropes draped around the neck and the pearls are sewn into the fabric of the dress.

During the Diamond Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II adorned in pearls: pearl earrings, pearls on her hat and a pearl necklace
During the Diamond Jubilee, Queen Elizabeth II adorned in pearls: pearl earrings, pearls on her hat and a pearl necklace | Source
Portrait of a young girl in pearls.
Portrait of a young girl in pearls. | Source
Maria Fyodorovna by artist Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (1837-1887)
Maria Fyodorovna by artist Ivan Nikolaevich Kramskoi (1837-1887) | Source
Source
Chinese Empress - Song Dynasty
Chinese Empress - Song Dynasty | Source

More Contemporary Girls and Their Pearls

Source

Make Your Own History in Pearls

A small collection of portraits featuring pearls as the jewelry of choice. The portraits are of different periods of time, but still each picture evokes a different perception of the wearer. Pearls are timeless. Create your own "portrait in pearls." When deciding to take your own headshot, consider adding pearls to your chosen outfit, whether is business, formal or even an informal, casual look that you are trying to achieve, pearls will always add to the picture.

Tips for Great Headshots or Portraits

  1. Chose a photographer whose work you like and who you think will create the best shot.
  2. Practice the pose you think will capture the "best you."
  3. Chose a few outfits that reflect the purpose of you sitting.
  4. When at the shoot, relax. Tension will show in the final shots.
  5. Be open to suggestions of poses and background from your photographer.
  6. Wear makeup appropriate for the shoot. Enlist the services of a makeup artist to get the most from the shoot.
  7. Wear your pearls!

© 2011 Cynthia B Turner

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)