Wednesday, November 30, 2022

Documentation: Reproduction and composition of Heraldic Necklaces using Viking era beads.

Documentation


Reproduction and composition of Heraldic Necklaces using Viking era beads


Baroness Ginevra Lucia Di Namoraza






What? A selection of Viking era beads strung together in heraldic groupings.

Where? Colours, sizes, and shapes based on Viking finds throughout Norway, Denmark and Sweden.





When? 793-1066AD

Why? I choose to complete a special string of beads for my husband, children and myself in our favourite colours, which also happen to be our Heraldic colours. Viking strands and necklaces have a striking variety in the way that they are composed. Some are multi-coloured, some are symmetrical, others have only one or few colours. Most Viking glass bead finds were disturbed, so the composition of necklaces may be to modern tastes, rather than the actual arrangement of the time.





Details of the extant pieces

I have included images of a variety of examples that I have taken inspriation from.

String: There was no obvious material remaining to show what the beads were strung on, but organic material such as a leather or cotton cord would have been common. (Holgate) I have chosen to use bronze wire and cotton cord, though I have used silver wire for the children’s necklaces.






Working with Glass

I have been working on developing my skill at melting glass and shaping it over the last year. I have learnt a lot, including where in the flame certain glass must be placed so that it doesn’t ruin the colour or texture. I have learnt how to steadily place my hands and rotate both glass and mandrel so that an even amount of glass, at the right temperature, is kept at the right heat to reproduce the desired bead.

The necklaces and strands presented a variety of challenges. Glass is a dangerous, sometimes fickle substance, and certain colours only work properly at a certain heat.

Some of the trickier techniques (and melting glass onto a mandrel and keeping it even is tricky to start with!) that I used for this project include:

• Studying each (photo of) bead in a variety of lights to get an accurate grasp of the details and finishes required.

• Working with tricky colours such as white, yellow, turquoise, and light blue which can be easy to “burn” or mutate colour.

• Combining colours and the perfect melt down spot to get a more accurate shade and shape.

• Creating the beads with “eye” decoration in the right size and number. The more complicated beads can have over 40 individual steps in the creation of circles and melting in of shapes.

• Ensuring that I copied the “flawed” beads as well, to accurately represent the extant pieces. As a perfectionist- trust me when I say this was possibly my hardest challenge!

• Shaping similar size beads but also recreating subtle differences such as size and shape.

• Creating stringers for finer detail in the small dots. One needs to carefully pull glass at a specific pace to achieve this.

• Certain shapes, such as the double eyes, require precise manoeuvring and shaping- the use of a knife needed to recreate the shape.

• Using techniques such as flattening the dots between each layer, melting them in completely before adding in the new layer, and then applying the final tiny circle.






Details of the equipment and resources

• I used a graphite paddle, mandrels, bead release, a knife, fire annealing and gravity. I try to use the least tools possible and authentic equipment that would have been used by the glassmakers of the time. Apart from my fire set-up, all the equipment I have used would have been used at the time as well.

• Clear broken glass was often used as well as imported blocks of coloured glass. (Regia Anglorum)

• The glass rods I used to recreate these beads were Effetre Murano – 104 COE soft glass rods. This is a close replica of the glass that would have been used at the time.

• Bead artisans would have created a small kiln or furnace. The broken recycled glass would be put into the furnace through holes in the side to melt in a dish inside the furnace. Air was pumped into the furnace to keep the charcoal hot. (Guido)

• I use a hot head torch and MAPP gas. In the future I have plans to recreate a small portable kiln but melting glass in a small kiln is very difficult as getting the heat hot enough to melt the glass is a struggle.

• Metal rods (mandrels) were dipped with a clay mixture called bead release. The molten glass is wound onto the rod until the desired shape was achieved. Once the bead size and shape were achieved, a design could be added by heating thin bits of glass and wrapping them around the bead, with a “stringer” that was heated and laid on top. (Guido)

• I use mandrels that would have been very similar to those used, however, mine are shorter as they don’t need to be as long to reach into a hot fire. The bead release I use has the crucial ingredients of water, kaolin and alumina hydrate, which is a composition that would have been used.

• Beads would then be moved to an annealing dish in the furnace.This would prevent thermal shock, lowering the chances of the bead cracking.

• Instead of annealing them in a furnace, I use a product called vermiculite to allow the beads to cool down slowly. I also use a kiln. In the future, I would like to try annealing them in a furnace to see what it is like.

• After the beads are finished, I remove them from the mandrels, clean them out with some bead cleaning tools and give them a quick clean with some soapy water.


Future Projects

• In the future, I would like to continue to practice more difficult skills, e.g., fine line work, millefiori use and making the Chinese Warring state Beads which had over 100 steps each.

• For this project, I would continue to find examples that validate the authenticity of the piece.

• I am enjoying creating pieces from different times and cultures and I will continue to develop my skills by continuing to choose challenging projects.

• I also enjoyed working with the museum and the professor when I recreated a 133 bead Phoenician necklace, and I would like to continue working with people like this. Not only was it very educational and rewarding, but it resulted in me contributing to the historical accuracy of the museum- which I thought was cool!

• I also intend to work on another historical recreation of a glass making set up.


Resources:


Primary Resources:


Secondary Resources:

  • Guido, Margaret. The Glass Beads of Anglo-Saxon England: c. AD 400-700, Boydell Press, 1999.
  • Holgate, Barbara. “The Pagan Lady of Peel”, St. Patrick’s Isle Archaeological Trust, 1987.
  • Regia Anglorum: https://regia.org/


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