Not just a Pretty Object

Blingy, fashionable or personal. Jewellery has been an integral element of identity for thousands of years. Despite this, historic and archaeological examples of these items of adornment have often been understudied and misunderstood. This month we are joined by two guests who are intent on changing this, aiming to highlight the true beauty of jewellery in a wider context. Listen in to hear all about the similarities and differences between studying historic and archaeological jewellery and how to start moving towards seeing these objects as craft items which can tell us their own fascinating stories.

Tess Machling is an archaeologist and independent researcher looking at Prehistoric and Iron Age gold from a craft perspective. Tess is now at the forefront of a project called The Big Book of Torcs, which aims to explore the techniques, manufacture and craft required to create British Iron Age Torcs. The project involves a number of people from a variety of backgrounds, including goldsmiths, silversmiths, jewellers, archaeologists and heritage specialists.

Sigrid van Roode is an archaeologist and jewellery historian. Originally trained as an Egyptologist, her PhD research examined 19 th Century Egyptian jewellery. With 30 years of experience in jewellery research, Sigrid’s goal is now to preserve and share the information associated with items of adornment from North Africa and the Middle East. She also works as a jewellery consultant and runs the website Bedouin Silver, which contains blogs, e-books and online courses.

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