Last week we went to see a large collection of wonderful Pictish stones at the Meigle museum in Perthshire, Scotland. You might recognise some of these stone carvings as a lot of our jewellery is inspired by them. How many of these symbols do you recognise?

Happy Monday everyone! It has been a lovely Easter holidays but now your jewellery is all being worked on. Today's castings, plus a bunch of others being worked on to get caught up! Do you see yours here? :)

We just listed dozens of new pieces including these Early Medieval inspired treasures! Head over to our website for the full hoard.✨

#viking #pictish #anglosaxon #earlymedieval #merovingian

Thanks so much:)

The Pictish mirror symbol is carved into stones across Scotland. There are many theories as to why but here I will focus on just maiking it shiny like a real mirror. Here I am sandcasting a pendant based on the symbol in recycled sterling silver.

Let’s revisit some of your favourites, new and old. Some of these, such as the Odin’s Spears and Anglo Saxon Hammers, we’ve been making since 2019!😮 It’s great to see them being appreciated all these years later.

Which is your favourite piece?

Here are some clips of how your jewellery gets made at Caledonian Forge. Doing a bit of everything so you can wear a bit of anything.😉

Reproduction of a Pictish pennanular brooch found in Galway, Ireland now in the @metmuseum.org in the USA. The original might be far away but we have many examples of this type of brooch here in Scotland.

While our main focus is the Early Medieval period, our handmade jewellery is basically for anyone with interest in Scottish history and surrounding cultures. From early Christian crosses to Woden head pendants, Thor hammers, ancient Roman charms, Greek goddesses, and beyond.

Currently working on this wee harp pendant which is inspired by Irish motifs but, of course, made to look Pictish since we love the Picts! This piece is starting to look quite delicate, so it would definitely be a lost wax cast job, sand casting wouldn’t work!😬

"Why we make”. To keep it short, we genuinely love what we do. Designing new jewellery, finding out about new exciting artefacts and making them how they’d look before being worn away by time, researching how it all fits together in a historical context… The list goes on! #marchmeetthemaker

The vast majority of what we make is inspired by the Early Medieval period, mainly Pictish, Anglo Saxon and Norse.

Heres what we have on the bench today, being finished off for sending near the end of the week! Do you see your order?

In today’s #marchmeetthemaker post, we’d like to show you a wee example of trial and error. A wax carving of a statue broke while getting molded, so Nicholas made a new pewter master using a luckily unbroken mold before casting it in bronze. Do you recognise the statue?

For complex pieces like this miniature carrion crow pendant, I away my wax carvings to be lost wax cast. Once the pieces are cast, we finish them off with the same kind of tools which we use for finishing sand cast work.

It’s #forgefriday again!

This tiny treasure is inspired by a gold plaque found during excavations at the Bamburgh castle, the home of Uhtred of Bebbanburg.

What other behind the scenes videos would you like to see? These are fun to make.😁

#Bamburghcastle #uhtred #thelastkingdom #anglosaxon

Thanks very much, that one is based on a metal detecting find that is now tucked into the back of a cabinet hidden away in Nairn museum. Lovely wee brooch, I really wish it was more prominent on their display!

Here we have a wee selection of our Insular brooches inspired by Pictish artefacts. Some of these brooches such as the St Ninians Isle Dragon one, are quite large and must have been used for a cloak. Which is your favourite? Personally I really like the smaller Loch Glashan brooch in the 5th photo.✨

Amazing Pictish ring from Burghead. Moray, Scotland.

This Dundurn Pictish ring has been quite popular in our shop lately! It’s based on an Early Medieval casting mould fragment for a Pictish clothes pin which was found in Dundurn hillfort, Perthshire. We do make pins based on the mould Nicholas realised that this design works really well as a ring too

We’re starting a new series called #ForgeFridays where we’ll show you some new work and/or behind the scenes in the workshop. Starting off with this Aberlemno swirl pendant being cast in sterling silver with some explanation on what Nicholas is doing.

The Luckenbooth brooch is a traditional Scottish love token, often given as a betrothal or wedding brooch. It might be worn by a mother as a charm and/or be pinned to a baby’s clothing to protect them from harm. This particular design is based on a copper alloy find from Aden Park, Mintlaw.

As a Nicholas... I understand this totally.

Known as the Maeshowe Dragon, this is one of the most instantly recognisable symbols of Orkney around today.

With Saint Valentine’s Day just around the corner, why not gift something unique to your special someone?

Inspired by Pictish swirl patterns found on various standing stones, this silver love heart pendant was designed by Nicholas here at Caledonian Forge. Available now on our website!

We’ve got a very unique piece to show you today! As mentioned a few posts back, we’ve noticed how well the Sutton Hoo helmets fit over the Woden Head pendants, so I riveted the two together and gave this new piece a nice gold plate finish.✨

#anglosaxon #woden #suttonhoo

Brr. Chilly and breezy today in the workshop! Some bench peg photos of what is being worked on today. Nice mix of #pictish #roman #anglosaxon and #insular :)

Cheers abody!

The Nene River Ring. Anglo Saxon 8-9th century. Has the symbol commonly called a "Valknut" in modern times but its true name and meaning is lost to history.
Quite an impressively hefty ring to wear, the silver one is 35 grams. Gold prices are unreliable so enquire for a quote, but it will be nasty.

Our Sutton Hoo Helmet pendants - based on the Saxon Helmet found in Sutton Hoo, currently on display at the British Museum in London. Have you ever seen the original artefact? The details on it are absolutely incredible!

Venus of Willendorf is a statue depicting a woman from the Paelothic period, estimated to be around 30,000 years old. Due to some exaggerated features, it is believed that it could be an early representation of a fertility goddess, though no one can say for certain.

The Thors hammer/ Mjolnir from Ostergotland chilling in the snow. Been a fan of this one for many years and made many attempts but until I learn proper filigree techniques I think this is about as close as I'll manage to make it to the original :)