For nearly 400 years, a treasure lay buried under the busy streets of London. Unearthed by accident in 1912, this dazzling collection of necklaces, pins, rings, chains, scent bottles, and other precious objects is now known as the Cheapside Hoard. It tells the story of how the rich and powerful of Tudor and Stuart England moved through society, decorating their bodies in finery that reflected enormous wealth and the influence it brings.

Probably buried at the time of the Great Fire of London or English Civil Wars in the mid-17th century, the stash was abandoned and remained a secret until the early 20th century, when the excavation of cellars under a demolished building revealed an array of nearly 500 jewels and gemstones. Most likely the stock of a goldsmith jeweler in Cheapside, this is the largest surviving collection from the era. The jewels come from all over the Old and New Worlds, demonstrating London’s standing as an international marketplace.

Tudor scholar and historian Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger examines the story of this collection of luxury items and what they reveal about life in Renaissance England. She discusses the links between specific pieces of jewelry and similar items in well-known portraits and considers how the jewels, scent bottles, and salt cellars open a window into how royals and nobility in the 16th and 17th century used such items to communicate power. She also traces the double mystery of the collection’s disappearance in the 17th century and the reasons this Aladdin’s cave of treasures is still mostly unknown today.

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