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9th-10th Century Luistari (Finnish) Brooch and Chain Set

A Project Many Years in the Making

 

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Lady Cailleach Dhe ingen Chiarain

MKA Karyn L Driscoll

220249@members.eastkingdom.org

May 16, 2021

 

  

 

The Challenge: Stretch That Comfort Zone!

The Laurel: Amy Webbe

The Details: Just about every artisan has that “thing” that intimidates them. Maybe it’s a stitch you’ve not tried before; maybe it’s a tool you keep making excuses not to use. Whatever it is, I challenge to you try it- you don’t have to love it, but make an attempt. Tell us what your reaction is to finally doing the thing you’ve been consciously or unconsciously avoiding in your art!

The Artist: Cailleach

The Art: 9th-10th century AD. A complete ensemble of two pierced plate brooches and their decorative chain attachments; the brooches tinned, with a pierced rectangular headplate and pierced expanding triangular footplate, to the reverse of each a spiral fitting to secure the ends of a pair of finely-wrought chains formed from double-links, of unequal length in order to allow the outer chain to hang below and parallel to the inner. 170 grams, 71.5cm total; brooches: 61mm each (16 1/4").

From an important British collection; acquired 1990s. Cf. Lehtosalo-Hilander, P-L., Luistari (Finland), A History of Weapons and Ornaments, grave 1260; plate 57, item 7. (Pinterest)

 

 

My S..T..R..E..T..C..H..E..S Beyond Comfort:

For this challenge, I am stepping out of my comfort zone in multiple ways:

  • Entering another A&S challenge, when I’m usually found quietly doing Service

  • Making my first soapstone mold

  • Creating the mold using a negative sculpt

  • Finding my hypothetical methodology was WRONG

  • Creating the piece anyway, using this as a learning experience

  • Submitting incomplete documentation, using only secondary sources and photographs from Pinterest, due to timing issues of validating provenance

  • While chainmaille is my go-to art, I have never coiled and cut my own rings before.

 

The Background:

The brooch and chain set I have reproduced is based off of a photograph gifted to me in 2017.  I decided then and there, after immediately fell in love with the piece, that if I were to do the link-in-link chains of these brooches, I would do the ENTIRE piece.  While I have been weaving chainmaille for years, other types of metalworking is quite new to me.  I puttered about, and even found another photograph of the set, but have pushed this project off for literal years, unsure of how I could complete something that looked so magical. 

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To my untrained eye, I imagined this piece to be cast metal, made using a mold of some sort.  It was not until I had already chosen my path and began heavily researching this set with my eye focused on documentation that I found I was completely wrong!  This being a challenge to step out of my comfort zone, I continued the erroneous path, I purposely did not create this in the way the original was done, and my first level of stepping outside of my comfort zone came via carving my first soapstone mold.

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The Creation:

Brooches: To create the brooches, I used Sculpey clay to create a properly scaled stencil of the left brooch from the photo.  I then traced that onto the stone.  Tracing is said to be period, and drawing is not my strength! Next, I attempted my carving using files and chisels, and while the stone is soft, due to physical dexterity issues, I was unable to complete my sculpt by hand.  I used a modern Dremel to achieve the shape and depth of the piece.  I was surprised at how organic carving the stone felt, and overcame my fear of sculpting in the negative, using the geometric shapes of the brooch as my lifeline.  I originally thought I had carved the image too deep, but it was almost perfect!

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The brooches were cast using pewter, an electric hot pot, and a lead dipper spoon, as that is what my studio can currently accommodate.  The extent brooches were tinned, pierced bronze, meaning that the shape was brought out of a sheet of metal, then covered with another metal.  Bronze must be heated at a much higher temperature to achieve a melting point (1700F) than pewter (500F), and that is a bit too far out of my comfort zone to do in a time-crunch, so this will be the next rendition of this project.  The third, although not necessarily final version, will be a pierced plate, to capture the true methodology of the set.

 

Chains: In modern life, I weave chainmaille not unlike they would have done in ancient times, using metal rings formed in circles, and linked together, using a style called “butted maille” where the ends of each ring butt together to close.  Chainmaille, historically, was created and used for armor.  Maille dates back to over 3000 years ago, even documented to the Gauls in 200 BC. (TRL).  Hand-drawn steel was made by pulling wire through a plate, the Blacksmith “form(ed) them into little interlocking rings through the use of a hand-cranked machine” (TRL).

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A 10th Century drawplate from Norway (Hurstwic)

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Historically, the wire was wound around a wooden form to create a coil of iron wire. The coil was split down its length to create a number of open iron rings (Hurstwick).  As I fall down the proverbial Arts & Sciences rabbit-hole, however, I’m finding that maille was also used as decoration, as shown in this brooch set. 

To create my rings, I used a steel mandrel so as to have a uniform size of the finished rings, coiled pre-milled wire onto the mandrel, then cut the coil into the individual rings.  I then used pliers to form the 2-in-2 linked chain one ring at a time. 

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Chain-hangers: For the chain-hangers, looking closely at the photos of the extent, I can see that the metal has been hammered down at the ends where the spirals are.  I did not do that, simply using tools to spiral the round wire.  While the documentation states that both pins are intact, they are not shown, and so I opted for durability and stability, and created a vertical fibula-style pin and attached it using glue.

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The second step outside of my comfort zone is submitting documentation using only website links, as I have not yet been able to verify the provenance of the brooch set.  I have yet to find any actual documentation of the piece beyond what the auction site says.  The archeologist and grave information was listed, and so now we wait for the gods of interlibrary loan to shine favor upon us.

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The Conclusion:

My thoughts, as I worked on this are that so many of the brooches found were penannular, or trefoil, or turtle brooches which are the domed and decorated style we see at finds such as Birka, Hiabathu, and even others at Luistari.  Why, then, is this set shaped so very differently?  What is its history?  What sort of person wore this, and why was it important?  This is my first attempt at the recreation of this amazing set, but this will not be my last.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                     Brooches found at Luistari, 9th-10th century AD (Pinterest)                                          Brooch reproduction by Cailleach

 

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The similarities between extent and reproduction:

  • Visual aesthetics:

    • Shape

    • Size

      • Brooches scaled to 2.4” high – extent noted as 61mm

      • Chains estimated based on scale – inner 19.25”, outer 21.75”

      • Chain hangers estimated per scaled photograph

  • Rings cut by hand, leaving uneven ends, and woven one at a time

 

The differences between extent and reproduction:

EXTENT:

  • Tinned bronze

  • Pewter and aluminum

  • Pierced plate construction

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REPRODUCTION:

  • Negative sculpted mold, cast

  • Unknown style of pins

  • Fibula style pins

 

The materials used:

  • Sculpey firm clay

  • Tools: Metal files, chisels, Dremel, stainless steel mandrel, pliers, flush cutters

  • Soapstone slice, 3”x3”x.75”

  • Pewter, R98 alloy

  • Aluminum wire, 16swg/18swg, 5356 alloy

 

 

 

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Works Cited

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Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/508977195385879334/. Accessed 2019; cites archeologist information

 

Pinterest, www.pinterest.com/pin/508977195385879345/. Accessed November 2016

 

The Ring Lord Chainmail Chain Mail Maille Supplies, theringlord.org/introtomailling/history.htm. Accessed November 2016

 

“Sold Price: Viking Scandinavian Silvered Bronze Brooch-and-Chain Set - February 4, 0115 10:00 AM GMT.” Invaluable.com, www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/viking-scandinavian-silvered-bronze-brooch-and-ch-456-c-96449a3b2a?epik=dj0yJnU9SlBwZUQ2WGNEOGkyWF9NNjNBOEttUVJYUnhYdDUxczEmcD0wJm49S0tPQ0hCVUl2UXVHT3o3ZWtRTGlkUSZ0PUFBQUFBR0FVSXlz#lotPanel1. Access date unknown

 

“Viking Mail.” Hurstwic, www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_mail.htm.  Accessed November 2016

 

“What Is the Melting Point of Various Metals?” What Is the Melting Point of Various Metals? | OnlineMetals.com®, www.onlinemetals.com/en/melting-points. Accessed May 16, 2021

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