Viking Jewels
Who woulda thunk it? Those bold warriors of ancient times…not only
wearing jewelry…but even innovative in their techniques. Imagine if
you will…a mighty ship crossing a tumultuous sea…and upon it…
great and fearless men…muscles bulging under flowing
tunics…brandishing their heavily steeled swords…ready to do battle
with the enemy if he should dare to show his face…yelling across the
bow to each other over the blasting sound of cascading waves…their
deep voices echoing their manliness…so…Olaf…you like my new
bracelet? I got it at a little shop in Allenberg…while all the
while…Olaf…grinning…his red beard flowing in the wind…his eyes
maddened with the thought of the oncoming onslaught…thunders
back…yes Eric…it is pretty …but it does not have the workmanship
of my golden collar. A friend of mine made it.
TylerThor-of-the-Golden-Hands is his name. Very reliable jeweler. An
extraordinary craftsman…and good with a sword too.
Viking jewelry is often barbarian in flavor…with animals and human
figures dominating their metal-work themes. There is that saying that
the more things change…the more they remain the same.
This…interestingly enough…applies to a technique they used in
creating jewelry called “chip- cutting”…which entailed the use of a
chisel to slice mirror facets into the gold which would then glitter
in the reflecting light. As they did not often use precious
stones…this became an significant method of jewelry-making. Today we
use a very similar method called “diamond-cutting” by which we cut
facets into the jewelry by using–in lieu of chisels–highly polished
precious stones rotating at high speeds in mandrels and slicing bits
of metal out of the gold. Diamond cut chains are a prime example of
this methodology in use today.
Today we wear–equally–rings and earrings and pendants and
bracelets. Back then, the ribbed collars from F�rjestaden and
Allenberg, Sweden, stood at the forefront of jewelry fashion. They are
often–as is the one I am going to show you–made of concentric gold
tubes with encrusted beaded wire and ridges filled with human faces
and crouching animals.
Some time around the 8th century…supplies of gold began to
diminish…and much Viking jewelry was then made of silver. But
TylerThor-of-the-Golden-Hands was able to glean a picture of a neck
collar in gold…which he is now prepared to show you. So enjoy.
For those of you who are new to this thing called Tidbits…may I
direct you to my home page at www.tyler-adam.com where you will
scroll down the table menu till you get to the box that says
Tidbits…and inside the box where it says Tidbit Graphics…click on
the link that says: Viking…where you will see a graphic of our
Golden Collar.
And there ya have it. That’s it for this week folks. Catch you all next
week. Benjamin Mark
TYLER-ADAM CORP.–Jewelry Manufacturers
Tel: 1-800-20-TYLER
E-Mail to: webmaster@tyler-adam.com