Style icon Zendaya is no stranger when it comes to delivering absolute looks during her press tours. However, one of the actress’ recent ensembles has landed her in hot water. Here’s why.
Last week, the beloved actress graced London as part of the press tour for the highly anticipated film The Odyssey, directed by Christopher Nolan.
While delivering another photo call look for the books — a white Jacquemus dress paired with a white headscarf — Zendaya notably wore a pair of gold statement earrings from Barron London, crafted from 1st-millennium BC ancient discs, per Harper’s Bazaar.
Digging deeper into the origin of these earrings, the Barron London website states they are from Glenn Spiro‘s collection.
“A pair of Ziwiye gold medallion plaques, circa 1st millennium BC, Iran. Mounted by Glenn Spiro with diamonds in yellow gold,” the description reads.
While Zendaya has received a lot of hype for this look, with TikToker and archaeologist Annelise Baer describing the pieces as “incredible”, another archaeologist has voiced concerns about how it was sourced and the ethics of parading it on the world stage.
@annelisethearchaeologist We NEED to talk about Zendaya’s incredible gold earrings from the London photocall for The Odyssey because these are actual (unprovenanced…) artifacts! #archaeology #history #ancienthistory #theodyssey #jewelry
♬ original sound – Annelise Baer | Archaeologist
What is the controversy surrounding Zendaya’s The Odyssey earrings?
Fellow TikToker and archaeologist Dr Z (who posts under @dr.archaeology) responded directly to Baer’s video, admitting that she thinks Zendaya’s decision to wear the artefacts “is gross”. However, she urged fans not to “troll” Baer for her glowing opinions regarding the accessory.
“I think this shit is gross,” Dr Z began in her now-deleted video.
“I want to respond to a fellow archaeology creator video today about Zendaya’s earrings at The Odyssey movie premiere. I am in no way advocating trolling this fellow woman creator.
“Her video advocates the ancient jewellery inspo trend using real artefacts — real artefacts. And she says, ‘I’m obsessed, I need more of it immediately.’ I’m also obsessed, in the other way, as a scholar, and I need less of it immediately.”
Dr Z then went on to express how the origins of the earrings are quite murky, noting that the acquisition of the artefacts is “undisclosed”.
“We know nothing else about their provenance, meaning their journey from their homeland, which is probably Iran,” she continued.
“They are part of London jeweller Glenn Spiro’s Old World collection that uses real artefacts sourced from the Middle East, North Africa, and West Africa. They were acquired by his son by means undisclosed,” she added before sharing that it left a “bad taste in [her] mouth”.
“Glenn literally says in interviews that these pieces are a dialogue with glorious treasure hunting and the exoticism of far lands and ‘the past.’ That ship don’t launch for me, dawg,” Dr Z continued.
“These artefacts are likely looted from Iran, and they are gracing the ears of an American actress from a country that just bombed Iran.”
Furthermore, Dr Z pointed out the “irony” of historic jewellery making an appearance at The Odyssey, claiming Nolan’s take on the Greek classic is “an absolute trainwreck of anachronistic language, armour, gender roles and pants”.
With that in mind, she argued that using real artefacts for an event like The Odyssey is about “class signalling”.
“Let’s be real, the point of these earrings is not to showcase legitimate ancient artistry. It is to fetishise the past, right? To be a commodity stolen for the elite, circulated illegally and immorally,” she added.
She then urged creators, like Baer, to “not hype this type of commodity fetishism” as it risks driving the “antiquities black market”, which would harm cultural groups and local people.
Celebrities receive backlash for wearing artefacts
This isn’t the first time a star has been called out for wearing artefacts on the red carpet. Earlier this year, Australia’s Margot Robbie was embroiled in controversy for donning the historic Taj Mahal diamond necklace at the LA premiere of Wuthering Heights.
While the actress acknowledged the “romantic history” of the piece (worth approx. AUD$12 million BTW), the origins of how it was acquired by Cartier are quite murky.
You see, the beautiful jewel first belonged to the wife of Mughal emperor Jahangir, Nur Jahan. Following the emperor’s death, it was passed on to his son Shah Jahan, who then gifted it to his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal.
From there, the movement of the piece and how it landed in Cartier’s collection is not known. However, historians speculate that it left India during Nadir Shah of Persia’s 1739 sack of Delhi, where his forces looted the Mughal treasury.
Timeless pieces, rich with history and culture, then entered collections across Europe and Russia through opaque and private sales. Years upon years later, the diamond ended up in Cartier’s hands.
Another celebrity who has come under scrutiny for wearing a historic piece is Kim Kardashian (which doesn’t come as a surprise). During the 2022 Met Gala, the reality TV star wore Marilyn Monroe‘s iconic “Happy Birthday, Mr President” dress to tie in with the exhibition’s theme, “In America: An Anthology of Fashion”.
Karashian received a brutal amount of backlash for wearing the piece, with some even claiming that she damaged the dress. However, per The Guardian, Ripley’s Believe It or Not! (who owns the dress) confirmed she “did not cause damage” to the iconic gown.
Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress has reportedly been damaged after being worn by Kim Kardashian at the Met Gala.
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) June 13, 2022
The dress now shows signs of tearing, and several crystals are either missing or hanging off of it. pic.twitter.com/cFu1lUBmzS
As for Zendaya, her decision to wear the earrings has reignited the debate on whether or not it’s appropriate to wear such historic pieces on the carpet, especially when the origins of their acquisition remain undisclosed.
The post Here’s Why The Internet Is Divided Over Zendaya’s 3,000 Y.O. Earrings On The Odyssey Press Tour appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
