Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

To: IncPen

interesting - some fairly elaborate work


2 posted on 03/04/2015 1:02:30 AM PST by Nailbiter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


To: IncPen

sorry meant to post comment back to myself-


3 posted on 03/04/2015 1:05:37 AM PST by Nailbiter
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies ]

To: Nailbiter
interesting - some fairly elaborate work

You may not realize how elaborate. The piece is typical of Anglo Saxon garnet cloissone jewelry that required amazing craftsmanship and an enormous amount of goldsmithing/lapidary knowledge.

Each little channel was filled with a thin slice of red garnet individually shaped to fit precisely by friction only, no adhesives. The source of the garnet is presently unknown, probably either Bohemia or India, both of which were available to artisans at the time. Because garnet tends to be dark and absorbs light, it's wonderful red color was lighted from below by a tiny piece of gold sheet that was carefully engraved and fitted to serve as a mirror.

There's an awesome display in the British Museum of many regal cloissone objects recovered from the Sutton Hoo ship hoard:

Sutton Hoo>

Objects in the same style were recovered -- badly mangled and probably buried war loot -- from the metal-detector treasure found on a farm near Birmingham just a few years ago. For a general view of Anglo Saxon cloissone check out:

Anglo Saxon Cloissone

13 posted on 03/06/2015 12:21:36 PM PST by Bernard Marx (ari)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson