Necklace inspired by Icelandic Viking bead examples

Icelandic-inspired necklace

After going through my glass beads (ones I’ve collected over several years as well as ones I was given by a friend), I began the process of stringing up a few necklaces for different costumes, with one of my areas to focus on being Viking Age Iceland.

I’d separated all of my workable beads into different baggies, each holding different variations (example: dark green transparent in one, dark blue opaque in another, silver & gold lined beads in another, etc) and then included slips of paper informing me which type of bead (sphere, double, melon, etc) would be appropriate for which location.  I did keep it quite broad “Viking age” and by country, rather than getting into specifics around items that were found in specific areas of each country.

Two necklaces inspired by Finnish bead examples

Necklace inspired by historic bead examples

After going through my glass beads (ones I’ve collected over several years as well as ones I was given by a friend), I began the process of stringing up a few necklaces for different costumes, with one of my first priorities to Finnish Iron Age examples.

I’d separated all of my workable beads into different baggies, each holding different variations (example: dark green transparent in one, dark blue opaque in another, silver & gold lined beads in another, etc) and then included slips of paper informing me which type of bead (sphere, double, melon, etc) would be appropriate for which location.  I did keep it quite broad “Viking age” and by country, rather than getting into specifics around items that were found in specific areas.

Beaded necklaces – inspired by Byzantine examples

Byzantine inspired necklace

After looking through a huge bundle of beads specifically seeking out beads similar to Viking Age examples, I had a LOT of beads leftover. I arranged to share a lot of these with fellow crafters, but I also thought I’d go through a few OTHER periods that I costume for, and see if there were any other necklaces (etc) I could make with all of these beads…

Beaded necklaces – inspired by Ancient Roman examples

Roman inspired necklaces

After looking through a huge bundle of beads specifically seeking out beads similar to Viking Age examples, I had a LOT of beads leftover. I arranged to share a lot of these with fellow crafters, but I also thought I’d go through a few OTHER periods that I costume for, and see if there were any other necklaces (etc) I could make with all of these beads…

RAM Vikings – Coins as jewellery

coin with a ship motif on one side found at Lolland, Denmark. It’s been dated 825-850 CE.

Near the entrance to the Viking display at the Royal Alberta Museum (RAM) there was a really small display – featuring a single silver coin. It was just one of many exhibits that included coins used as personal embellishment.