ACC: Necklace

Most Italian necklaces were just simple strands of pearls, sometimes with a pendant attached.  Many portraits, when looked at closely, show some sort of spacer between each pearl.  Most likely many of these "spacers" were knots in the stringing cord, which are still used today for both security (in case the thread broke) and to keep the pearls from rubbing on each other.  However, in quite a few instances the spacers seem to be tiny metal beads, such as in the 1544-45 portrait of Eleonora of Toledo with her son Giovanni de' Medici (by Agnolo Bronzino; Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence):

Or in this one of Lucrezia de' Medici, c1560 (by Alessandro Allori; North Carolina Museum of Art):

Presumably these tiny beads served the same purpose as the knots, but with the added bonus of a subtle sparkle!  Of course, with my love of sparkle, I opted for using tiny gold beads in my ACC necklace:

ACC: Rings - first style

I ended up getting four different colors of stones to see which one I liked best.  I decided that I liked them all!  So, although I'm only going to use the red one for the ACC, I included the others in the pic so you can see all the purty colors!  :)

I haven't decided whether I'm going to sell the others or keep them...hmmm...

Diana the Zibellino

Diana was created for the Province of Arrows' Flight (http://www.arrows-flight.org/) as the prize for the winner of their Insurrection event's Arts & Sciences competition.  In honor of the PAF, I named her after the goddess Diana (the goddess of the hunt) and I took her colors from their device (Purple and Gold).  To make her head I used a special metal powder that anneals to clay, giving the clay an actual metal coating.  Isn't she pretty?  :)

A small digression...

Even though this isn't craft related, it is an extant medieval object relating to my other great love: dogs!  (Text and picture from this article on the 2010-2011 Scotland Treasure Trove Report.)

Swivel ring and mount for a medieval hunting leash


This is an unusual complete example of a swivel fitting for a dog leash, comprising a freely rotating mount with attachments for two separate leashes. Such leashes were used to control dogs during hunting where the swilling element would prevent the leashes being fouled or caught. The fitting is rather small and is presumably for a pair of scent hounds or dogs for small game such as hare. Hunting held a particular place in medieval culture, putting an emphasis on particular behaviour and virtues. It was in short, a social setting where an individual could show themselves to advantage and this objects reflects this social setting; finely decorated, it is an object to be admired and to reflect the status of the owner as much as it is a utilitarian object.

ACC: Flag Fan

I am so annoyed!  I very carefully worked up a pattern so I could make a "proto flag fan," only to find out that neither my printer nor my Dad's has ink!  Argh!  Well, I've gotta do something, so I'll post my little pattern and the extant fan I based it on:

Now I just need to get some ink for my printer!  :)

ACC: Bracelets

Earlier today I was looking at the bracelets in my inspiration portrait:

 They are heavy chain, which looks like the "Half Persian" technique of making chain mail:

 Today I found another portrait with this type of bracelet and, even better, it shows the clasp!  Joy!  Very rarely can you see how bracelets and necklaces are clasped.

ACC: Verre Eglomise Pendant

I'm hoping that my wonderful and talented sister, Valerie aka Beth-a-Val, will help me with this project.  She is just amazing when it comes to painting miniatures!  Verre églomisé (gilded glass) refers to a technique where a subject is painted onto the back of a clear cabochon (glass or rock crystal), then the whole back of the cabochon is gilded.  The trickiness becomes apparent immediately: unlike most paintings, where you paint the background, then block out the main areas, then add detail, in verre églomisé you have to do everything in reverse!  I'm going to have to choose a very simple subject if I'm going to do this project, since I have very little experience with painting in general.

Early 1600s; Italy, poss Spain; V&A

 An extant example of a pendant using this technique.  The cabochon in the center of the pendant features a man riding a horse, with Latin script all around the edges.  Needless to say, I don't think I'm going to attempt anything this elaborate!

1570s; Portrait of a Woman with a Fan; Giovanni Batista Moroni

 

This portrait shows a pendant very similar in style to the extant one.  I think I'll put mine on a ribbon too, though probably not a pink one.  ;)

One of 6 glass cabochons that I had kicking around in my stash.  I'm glad there's more than one, just in case I totally mess up!