Viking glass beads based on a find from Kneep
- A set of 44 handmade glass beads based on a Viking burial find from Kneep, on the Isle of Lewis
- £45.00
Based on the beads from a Viking-era burial on the Isle of Lewis, these beautiful little segmented beads are a modern wound version of the original drawn glass beads.
Drawn glass beads are created in a furnace, using a bubble of glass that has been pulled out into a long, hollow rod which has then been crimped to create segments. The beads are then broken off the rod in varying styles ranging from single segments upwards.
Wound glass beads are created individually, by winding molten glass around a mandrel and then shaped to create the segments. Mike's beads are wound glass rather than the original drawn furnace glass but are otherwise as close to the originals as possible.
Another technique common to drawn glass are the gold-in-glass and silver-in-glass techniques which are rarely done in would glass beads. Mike has substituted clear glass and transparent amber for these, as the closest approximation.
Each set contains 44 glass beads, with segments varying from single segments to four segments, as in the original set.
