Vikings and jewellery-00-6464

Germanic
The spread of Germanic fashions throughout Europe can be attributed both to the number> of Germanic mercenaries employed in Romar. Imperial service and to the invasions and setde-ment of Germanic tribes of vast areas in Western Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries. Semi-nomadic tribes, although known as 'barbar-ians' by the Greeks and Romans, achieved very high levels of craftsmanship and their occupa-rion enabled pre-Roman traditions to dirive. Sophisticated polychrome inlay of garnets and glass is the major feature of Germanic [fashion jewelry]. Gold was die favoured metal, and geometrie motifs and zoomorphic decoration were wide-spread. The pagan custom of burying jewelry widi the dead was abandoned by most parts of Europe by the early eighth century, so litde jewelry from this later period has survived.
Viking
Vikings, like die Germanic tribes, were never subjected to Roman rule. Similarly to the work of Germanic tribes, animal motifs dominate Viking jewelry and repoussé and filigree are incorporated to enhance basic cast shapes. Uniquely they devel¬oped a decorative technique called 'chip-cutting' where the surface of the metal was worked widi a chisel to create facets that produced a glittering effect. This was an important development and decorative element, as their work did not gener¬ally utilize stones. Most Viking [fashion jewelry] was made in silver, generally woven and braided into torcs and bracelets.
Medieval jewelry (fifth-fifteenth century), in addition to its varied functions, was beginning to be established as a way of expressing the wearer's place in society and the wearing of it was heavily prescribed through sumptuary laws — heraldic symbols were widely used. The materials used in jewelry were valued for their religieus, magical and medicina! properties above their intrinsic worth. Jewelry bearing an inscription — whether religious invocation, magical formulae or love mottoes - was popular. The flourishing of the monasteries from the mid-eleventh century meant that devotional jewelry was prominent.
Gothic influence
Jewelry from the thirteenth century onwards began to take on the forms and ornamenta-tion used in Gothic architecture of the medi-eval period, for example the quatrefoils, trefoils and vesica piscis that feature in the window tracery of great cathedrals. Jewelry of this period was created by goldsmiths, who also created a variety of objects, including vessels, tableware and church plates. Although there were both secular and monastic goldsmiths, the majority of production took place in a monastic setting; it wasn't until later that there were specialized workshops. These goldsmiths often incorpo-rated miniature architectural forms into their [fashion jewelry]. Clarity of pattern and line superseded dense surface detailing. Brooches remained the most frequently worn type of jewelry, with ring brooches the most popular. Disc brooches and cluster brooches incorporating cameos and intaglios showed the formality of design as gemstones were ordered in pat-terns and interspersed with tiny gold figures of humans, animals or dragons. The naturalism of later Gothic brought figurative pieces in enamelled gold using the new en ronde bosse technique, in which enamel is applied to shapes in high relief.

Article Source: http://www.gamblingarticlessite.net

[fashion jewelry]
To stay informed about earrings fashion visit here.

Please Rate this Article

5 out of 54 out of 53 out of 52 out of 51 out of 5 

Not yet Rated