Antique jewelry glossary

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Halo

A type of head ornament in the form of a crescent-shaped band from which emanate a series of vertical pointed ornaments simulating rays of light, sometimes being alternately straight and wavy. Such pieces are popular forms of jewelry made in Spain and Mexico to adorn statues of the Virgin and of saints, and are attributes of sanctity. A circular nimbus that surrounds a head.

From: An Illustrated Dictionary of Jewelry, autor: Harold Newman, publishers: Thames and Hudson