JEWELRY

The Medici comissioned portraits of female family members covered extravagantly in jewelry which was chosen specifically to convey important characteristics and political alliances of the family.

The Medici family adopted the diamond as their main symbol. Often paired with the phrase "semper" ("always" in Latin), the diamond represented the endurance of their power as well as strength and invincibility. 

The ruby was another significant gem in the Medici family. Cosimo displayed this gem in portraits to evoke the Roman emperor, Augustus Caesar. They were both capricorns (whose gem is a ruby), and Cosimo felt that he cultivated a golden age in Florence, similar to Augustus' influence in Rome. 

Pearls were associated with purity and chastity; therefore, many women wore them in portraits to display their virtue.

"...visual assertions of dynasty and power were carefully communicated through the overt Medicean symbolism of the female wearer's jewelry" - Heather Holian

As shown above, the women's jewelry is a prominent aspect of each portrait. Both women are adorned in pearls and rubies, with a large diamond (the Medici gem) in the center. This jewelry conveyed the Medici's dynastic strength and ultimately the authority of Cosimo himself.