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Jewellery & archaeology
As someone with a degree in archaeology I’ve always had an interest in ancient arts and techniques, and some of my creative inspirations certainly come from years of studying and excavating the material culture of past civilisations.
I’m not necessarily aiming to replicate archaeological objects, although I love replica jewellery and have been buying & wearing it myself for years. Some of my favourite pieces, for example, are the small silver replica of the ‘Venus of Willendorf’, a stone age limestone figurine found in Austria in 1908, or a pair of silver earrings from a holiday in Turkey, replicas of a Greek coin showing the goddess Athena, who is associated with wisdom, warfare – and crafts.
Although I have on a few rare occasions replicated objects myself, I’m more interested in a more subtle, almost coincidental form of inspiration. This piece of sea glass, for example, reminded me of a mini axe head, so I polished it carefully to bring out the shape a bit more, and turned it into a little charm.
With the silver pendant below, the influence was even more organic. While I was working on it, I was reminded of ‘Celtic’ medieval brooches, like the famous ‘Tara' Brooch (8th century AD), which were a standard clothing accessory and used to fasten cloaks.
The central shaft of the pendant suggests a brooch’s pin. I was always interested in textile techniques, so I used weaving to decorate one half of the pendant, which felt right, considering the original use of these brooches.
So even though I had no intention of recreating a Celtic brooch (and certainly none of the craftsmanship), this pendant is definitely influenced by my knowledge of and fascination with them.
I hope I will find many more inspirations in archaeology along my journey in jewellery-making.
Watch this space.
Photo of the Tara Brooch at National Museum of Ireland by Johnbod under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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