Deadly Beauties – Polychromy in Metal

Hi Viking art enthusiasts and fans of distinguished metal!

I have created a design sheet for my friends at Volundr, makers of exquisite Viking jewelry. They had asked me to provide drawings of appropriate decoration for the sockets of a number of spearheads they acquired.

To make an accurate drawing of the spearhead socket design, I first sketched the Urnes style ornament onto a full scale paper dummy cone which I subsequently cut open and unrolled. I traced its outline, and subdivided the shape into quarters which helped to smoothen out irregularities in the composition to make a cleaned up sketch as a reference for Volundr.

If you would like to see the 11th century original which my drawings are based upon, take a look at my respective post.

See more images here

​

---

Silver & Iron

Exceptionally skilled craftsman and master carver Lars Jensen has recently applied the same method of decoration that was used on the original spearhead to create this stunning sword hilt based on a find from Østre Alm, Norway.

This is how it works: The iron surface is crosshatched, and subsequently silver-plated. Next, the contour lines are engraved into the silver plating, exposing the iron beneath which, when blackened or oxygenised, makes for a striking contrast.

A somewhat less labour intensive method, yet by no means less intricate and effective, is to inlay lines and dots engraved directly into the iron surface.

This amazing example was created by Wojtek Kochman of Volundr based on my research. He meticulously followed my reconstruction drawings of a Norwegian sword hilt which today is kept at the Archaeological Museum Hamburg.

Find an extensive documentation of the examination and reconstruction of the original artefact in my public post.

Plenty of sword images & info here

​

---

Viking Koftgari

A further method to create polychrome decoration on Viking Age sword hilts could be compared to a traditional Indian metal working technique called koftgari. My friend Ingo Petri has repeatedly lectured on the subject. The iron surface is covered by a comparably shallow and occasionally sketchy crosshatch, onto which pieces of thin hot wire are hammered to create the decoration which afterwards stands slightly proud of the surface.

The images above show remains of an VLFBERH+T sword kept at the Hamburg History Museum. During conservation, the silver has been partially polished off, thus exposing the crosshatch structure underneath.

This is what koftgari looks like when new. Note the fine crosshatch. The quasi koftgari application is a phenomenon of the later Viking Age. It does not occur on any 9th century or earlier weapons. However, it is not confined to Scandinavian arms only. You can find it on contemporary Anglo-Saxon swords, too.

​

---

The Traditional Way

The oldest method of applying non-ferrous metal to an early medieval sword hilt, or the socket of a spearhead is also the most labour-intensive, as Bob Davies told me. Thousands of tiny strips of wire are hammered into fine parallel grooves accurately cut into the iron, in order to create mesmerising geometric patterns, mostly of silver and copper, covering the complete surface.

In the above image you can see the fine grooevs still holding remains of silver and copper. Most non-ferrous metal has been rubbed off, exposing the black iron.

When new and polished, the full splendour of this kind of decoration becomes apparent. The above sword is a true reconstruction which was masterly crafted by the two Thibauds of Atelier Thibaud in Carcassonne. They provide a short video clip on their facebook pages which shows the intricacy of this crazy metal work. Do not miss to take a look!

See a crazy craft

---

So, that's it for today. Take care, and keep your blade well-honed.

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please recommend it to your friends. They can sign up here or on my website.

If you wish to read more, find hundreds of related posts on my Patreon. Special thanks to all my loyal supporters on Patreon – you keep me going! And if you are not a patron yet, you are most welcome to join.

If you feel like dropping a coin into my tip jar, you can do so here. Thank you for your time and your interest.

Yours,

Roland

​

---

You are receiving this newsletter because you have signed up for it, or because you have previously expressed your interest in my work and events. If you prefer to not receive further emails, you can unsubscribe below.

---