Throughout history jewellery has expressed a multitude of meanings - social position, marital status, self-esteem. Richly elaborate or elegantly simple, Native American beadwork, Turkoman silver, Burmese jade and other examples of ethnic jewellery are avidly sought by collectors. This book reveals the full splendours and the subtle meanings behind the finely crafted works of art in one of the world's finest private collections of ethnic jewellery - that of Colette and Jean-Pierre Ghysels, which has until now remained carefully protected in Brussels, never exhibited extensively, and accessible only to selected scholars. Published here, the Ghysels Collection comes to light in photographs taken especially for this book by John Bigelow Taylor. Amongst the 400 colour reproductions are pieces from every corner of the globe: objects of gold and silver, precious and semi-precious gems, animal fur, bones, teeth and feathers. The range of sizes, forms and craft techniques is equally impressive. Colette Ghysels herself provides detailed captions for all the illustrations, identifying materials and craft methods, giving tribal names and uses of particular objects, and offering an appreciation of the value, rarity, significance and innate beauty of each piece.