Anglo Saxon Treasure Hoard

Gill · 24 Sep 2009

Elements of the Staffordshire Anglo Saxon treasure hoard will go on display at Birmingham museum tomorrow. I shall be there, complete with a camera (if they'll let me take photos) and a sketchbook.

You can read about the haul here. The fretwork on some of the jewellery is so intricate, especially for the 7th century.

I wonder how they cut it? Who made the fine blades? The gems and gold come from Byzantium and Sri Lanka, so clearly West Mercia was much more sophisticated in the dark ages than hitherto appreciated.

maltrout512 · 24 Sep 2009

That is some very fine work. I found a hoard of Roman silver denarii 103 in total 3 years ago, so I know what the finder is going through. Thanks for the posting Gill.

StevieB · 24 Sep 2009

Is it definately fretwork though? Surely much easier to pour molten gold into a carved form with raised panels? Sawing creates alot of swarf which, if gold would be wasteful - even by todays standards, let alone Anglo-Saxon times.

Steve.

Gill · 25 Sep 2009

Hi Steve

You may well be right about it being moulded, not cut.

I visited the exhibition today, joining the queue at 12.15pm and getting into the exhibition shortly after 1pm. By all accounts, the public had been queueing up past the Library earlier (for those of you who know Birmingham City centre

) so our wait was comparatively short. The opening of the exhibition had been delayed so that it could be moved into a larger room to cater for the unanticipated crowds. A few colour brochures had been printed but had run out after only a couple of hours and were replaced by rather poor quality photocopies. Still, they were good enough to be able to pick out the patterns.

My guess is that around 50 to 60 pieces were on display and they were fabulous, absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't take photographs and there were too many visitors to allow me to draw any sketches, but I intend to return next week and examine them at greater leisure. The exhibition will run until 14 October (I think) and admission is free. Since I'll be in Brum on Tuesday anyway, it would be a crime to pass up the opportunity for another visit.

I suspect most of the jewellery was made by either casting or beating it into moulds. However, I know nothing about jewellery manufacture so I think a trip to the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter museum has got to be scheduled next (and soon).

It was fascinating to see how designs had developed from the more familiar Celtic patterns and I wonder how they would have evolved if they had been left alone without subsequent foreign influences. I was astonished at how intricate some of the details were. You almost needed a magnifying glass to view some of the features, never mind to produce them.

I strongly urge anyone who gets a chance to see the Staffordshire Hoard to do so while it is still open to the public. As for scrollers who are looking for new pattern ideas, it's a 'must see'.

Gill

goose · 6 Oct 2009

You are likley to find the thin intricate pierced patterns are in fact cut for the following reason. Gold does not retain heat for long and so when molten it cools rapidly in average air temps unless a heating source is applied.

The thinner the channel the more surface tension is applied to the liquid and the quicker it looses heat, thus air bubles are retained or it fails to fill the channel fully.
It is far easier to cast/beat out a solid surface and then chisel/carve/file out the pericings.

Today intricate lattice style designs can be cast, as we have the centrafugal spinners and self heating multi-section moulds etc.

Having worked with a few living history groups. I was lucky to see one 80year old gent who cut hand made gold jewelry. He worked over a sheep skin. The gold swaff would be caught in the wool and when he finished working the skin could be rolled up. trapping the swarf inside.

When a suitable amount of swarf was caught, the woof was scorched off with a flaming brand whilst holding over a large wooden plate in small sections. The bowl was filled with water, the wool/ash would float and the gold sink. A quick panning style effort and the gold dust could be collected for re-use.