Visit in my new workshop

Today let me take you for a walk around my new workplace. We are in the year 1402 in the town Sundkøbing. It is a trade town by the baltic sea, with a harbour, over 10 houses and a tournament field.
My house is the first one when you entering the gate, just next to the market place, and vis-à-vis blacksmith (just if need some custom tools).

Next to the house I got a big garden with vegetables, herbs and fruit trees.

My workshop is in the front room with a window coming to the main street. There you can find a small bench, anvils, hammers, tongs and cutters, punches, chemicals, metals, showcases and all the items I need to have in reach while working.

All the rest of materials I keep in the storage room. There you can find charcoal, clay, resin, wax, stone, pitch, and items I want to keep safe and locked when I am not around.

 In the backroom. There is a fireplace, table with benches. shelves with all kind of ceramics and cooking equipment. With  the ladder standind by the wall, you can climb up to the sleeping place under the rooftop. The back doors are leading to the garden.

 

It is not a big house, but it got everything that is needed: a working bench with some light, the fireplace. I am successively filling it up with new tools and materials to beable to make more different metalwork in the way a 15th century goldsmith would.

Working full time in Middle Ages

I was quiet on the blog lately but it doesn’t mean I haven’t done any nice projects. That was a very busy summer. 

I started a new work in the Middelaltercentret in Nykobing Falster as a late 14th/early 15th century goldsmith.

 For the last months I spent a lot of time researching on medieval tools and workshops appearance, with filling up my new workshop with tools, arranging space, making show cases etc.
Also with leaning to make some nice metal pieces without help of  any the modern equipment.

I had some fails and successes on the way, but having a great time either way!

In my workshop with some wax casting forms and precious stones and pearls in a front, and few anvils and a show case in the back.

 Here is a link to museum:
http://www.middelaldercentret.dk/

E letter love locket-brooch from th Metropolitan Museum

As the February is considered to be the month of love - today I got a medieval lover gift.

It is a brooch but it is also a locket - it has a hinge and after turning a small lock, it opens and shows the inscription: 

 • V/REWELININ • VRME DEI + HERZE • LEVE• /NSTE • MOIS IC IN • /•SIN 

 which means

"Fair lady, may I always remain close to your heart."

 

Those words are safely kept from the sight of others and only a wearer knows about them.
Inside the brooch there is some space which might be used for storing some kind of a small gift, a reminder of the adorer, like a piece of hair - secular love relict.
All that features together creates a very intimate piece of jewellery and something far more precious than gold and all pearls it is made of.

The copy of the brooch unlocked and in two parts, before fixing the hinge rivet.

 The cover of the brooch has a shape of letter E and in its centre bears the figure of a man holding arrows aimed at his heart. The small holes seen on the top are the places where six small pearls will be set (there is still one remaining at the original brooch)

  

It was probably originally manufactured in second half of the 14th century in Southern Germany (the inscription is giving some hints as it seems to be written in a Saxon dialect).

The original brooch from the Metropolitan Museum- closed
Material: silver, gold plated
Dimensions: 32mm x 22mm x 38mm
Dating: late 14th century.

The original brooch from the Metropolitan Museum - open.

A few more photos of the making process so far.

I started with preparing the wax models. The corpus of the letter was cut and carved hollow inside and the figure of the man was made with a wax build-up technique.

Wax models

After casting, all elements were assembled together. The figure was riveted on place, the hole for a closing lock was cut in the back panel and the closing "hook" with a silver bead was set. The pin was installed inside.

Putting on this brooch is probably not the most convenient, but after it is made you can be sure it is safe and quite difficult to lose.

 How to wear it? First, the lock have to be open, than the piece of cloth has to be pulled thru the hole in a back panel and punched thru with a pin. After straightening the cloth brooch is on and you need only to close it again to keep the inscriptions hidden.
Here are photos of the brooch just before the engravings were made were you can see how it is constructed.

Closed brooch without pearls.

  

Bibliography

http://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/70009901

Silver crowned spoon from the Historiska Museet - next step

The next project is getting closer to its final look.

The spoon from Stockholm is already casted. I have made it in bronze (the final one will be silver).

It has been hammered to make it deeper and engraved.

The copy of the spoon from Historiska Museet with engravings.

The copy of the spoon from Historiska Museet.

Some more pictures before the enravings were made - but they shows nice the final shape after hammering.

   

   

The previous post about the making of the spoon can be found here.

Metropolitan gothic pendant- finished

The next piece of jewellery done! And it is a reliquary again.

It has an elaborate gothic architectural design on a front and a hunting scene with hounds chasing a rabbit on the back panel. The holly relicts would be safely kept inside and always stay visible thru two small windows. It is possible to open the pendant - the panel slides down to show the precious content.

The front panel of the reliquary pendant copy from the Metropolitan Museum.
Material: silver, gold plated
Dimensions: 57mm x 27mm x 7mm
Dating: late 14th century.

  

The back panel with a hunting scene.

The front panel slides down to reveal the relicts stored inside.

   

For the comparison - the photo of the original pendant.

The original pendant from the Metropolitan Museum in New York
Material: silver, gold gilt
Dimensions: 57mm x 25mm x 7mm
Dating: late 14th century

The previous post about the making of this reliquary can be found here.

M brooch finally finished

Maria brooch in silver is ready-to-wear.

I must admit that it turned out very nice. Unfotrunately I can't show on the photo how those small attached pendants move while wearing . But it makes the brooch hard not to spot.

Curious how it will catch an eye when it will be gold plated! 

The brooch pin is more like the modern ones - much easier to put on then disk brooch types.

For pricing write an email to the address on a contact page.

For more photos of the making of the brooch click here

Happy New Year everyone! * EN * BON * AN *

I looked for some New Year gifts for you this time.The custom of giving such gifts has a long tradition and it was common  during the Late Middle Ages among the higher class.

In France such presents were known as étrenneus. They where given to lords, family, friends and even to household staff. Often those gifts were jewellery as rings, brooches, pendants, or specially made badges ( also made of silver ). 

Jewels are costy and such expense are known through account books, bills and other written sources telling us a lot aboute this medieval custom.

In 1384 the royal goldsmith Jehan du Vivier was paid to make a hundred and six small silver-gilt badges and they were supposed to be given to the knights and squires of Charles IV as a New Year's Day gift.

 In 1448 King Rene of Anjou gave hundred and eight badges of  fine silver to the lesser members of his household and twelve gold ones to his knights.

Golden ring from Verversdijk (Belgium)
with engraved EN BON AN inscription and floral motive, 15th cent.

From the account of gifts given in 1373 by John of Gaunt, the Duke of Lancater we know that he bought jewelry from several London goldsmiths: 
'for divers silver-gilt hannaps and divers gold beads [paternosters] and gold brooches and rings and phials and other jewels bought from them for us and given away on New Year's Day at Eltham last year'.

Silver ring with traces of gold gilt found in Hampshire ( England)
with engraved words EN BON AN words separated by floral motives and crosses, 15th cent

For the New Year's Day in 1392 Valentina Visconti, Duches of Orleans, bought a whole list of jewels from the Paris goldsmith and precious stones seller Jehan Tarenne:
"a fine large square diamond for her brother-in-law the King, followed by rings set with a sapphire or other precious stones or pearls for such humble but important persons as nurses to Princess Isabelle and Princess Jeanne, the Kings daugthers, or the Queen's femme de chambre, washer-woman and workman."

Golden ring found in Lincolnshire ( England)
with engraved words EN BON ANNE separated by floral ornaments, 15th cent

and the last but definitely not the least New Year's gift find:

Golden ring found in Kent (England)
with a figure of John the Evangelist on the top and the engraved words EN BON AN on a twisted band, 15th cent.

  

  

 

The catalogue database note:

"A Medieval finger-ring, iconographic in type, engraved at its centre with the image of a standing saint, possibly St John the Evangelist, holding a chalice in his left hand and blessing it with his right. The ring is a highly original construction of geometric planes, creating an exaggerated point at the shoulder. Each plane is engraved with a sunburst and sprigs of foliage. The back of the hoop is cabled and carries an inscription punctuated by engraved flowers. The inscription is contrary to the orientation of the image and reads:

"EN BON AN"

This French inscription, wishing a good year, appears on a large number of medieval rings which are considered to have been New Year's gifts."

Bibliography:

Lightbown, R. W.: Mediaeval European Jewelry . London 1992, p.71-72, 198

http://www.coleurop.be/template.asp?pagename=histoire_verversdijk_arch

http://www.winchestermuseumcollections.org.uk/index.asp?page=item&mwsquery={collection}={archaeology}&id=47

http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/269545

http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/200144

M for Maria - late 14th cent. brooch from Germany

Something a bit more secular this time - a luxury object of personal devotion.

In 1870 during some construction works at Pritzwalk (Germany) the large number of late medieval silver items had been discovered.

After the examination the researchers came to a conclusion that this treasure was probably hidden in 1392. It consisted 426 jewellery items and a number of jewellery fragments.

Unfortunately the treasure was moved from Pritzwalk to Berlin Decorative Art Museum and some of the items has been destroyed ( also including a beautiful wearable pendant altar with three kings visiting Christ) during the II World War bombing.

Hundreds of beautiful items survived, though and it was really hard to decide what to make first!

After hours of studying the catalogue- that was my pick.

The silver brooch in a shape of crowned letter M.

A wax model of a copy of the silver, late14th century brooch.

 

   

   

Letter M stands for Maria -Mother of Christ. 

The background of the letter is engraved with six four petal flowers and letters A and V- which stands for AVE.

There is also an additional element, a small leave-shaped pendant suspended with a silver wire eye soldered at the back. In the centre of the pendent the is an eye soldered with a silver foil hanging ornament ( very similar to the one from Erfurt Treasure hooks-and-eyes I made - you can see it here )

All elements are enemelled.

At the revers the hinged pin with a closing hook is still preserved.

The original brooch from Pritzwalk Treasure, now in Kunsgewerbetmuseum Collection in Berlin
Material: Silver, gold gilt, enamel
Dimensions: 50mm ( with pendant) x 2,1mm

Bibliography

Krabath, Stefan; Lambacher, Lothar: Der Pritzwalker Silberfund. Smuck des späten Mitelalters, Pritzwalk 2006