Images for jewelry.

[Elwindil]

Are there any images or designs done by the Professor himself, or perhaps that can be inferred from primary sources that are easily accessible? I don't have as large a library as I once had, unfortunately and I'm at this point more interested in getting tools and materials so I can practice something I used to do once upon a time. I'm thinking of making some small one off jewelry pieces as well as perhaps some boxes of wood with wire inlays and would like some designs that are definitively from either the Professor or that he personally approved as being Elven, Numenorean and such.

[Taurinor]

I don't know that there are any drawings specifically of jewelry by the Professor, but there's this thread of Numenorean design motifs. Jack organized them by category and even decoded a couple.

A few of folks on the forum have pulled elements from those designs to decorate Ranger gear.

[Elwindil]

while many of those designs would look great as, say inlay for a wooden box or perhaps a table or something similar, there would be a great deal of work and equipment involved to do them as jewelry as it would require enamel work to get it to look right I think. I might be able to do some of them as sheet metals, but they would be much more simplistic than some of the more intricate designs, and I fear they would look more like costume jewelry than an actual piece of fantastical history like I'm aiming for.

[Elleth]

Oh gosh. I'd actually planned to do a deep-drive writeup of jewelry in ME for the next newsletter, but I've switched topics. And honestly, there's not a lot to go on.

I have noticed though that the Professor's floral drawings aren't unique to him: you see similar motifs in Norman manuscript illuminations for instance. As an aside, I saw these earrings recently and they really remind me of his flowers:

merf-example-earrings.jpg (36.05 KiB) Viewed 9375 times

floral stud earrings

They're studs rather than dangles,and finer work than I think typical of the period - but I can imagine something not too terribly different in concept being worn.

[Taurinor]

I can definitely see some similarities there, Elleth!

In the previously linked topic, Jack posted a picture of a brooch dated to the 600s that was made in Faversham that had a similar feel to some of the Professor's designs -



There's a fair amount of enameling there, though.

What characteristics would make a particular piece of jewelry feel costume-y to you, in general?

[Elwindil]

a lack of presence, or weight for lack of a better term. The feel of it has to be right, not just the look of it. I don't want to be making things that look right but don't feel right, you know? anyone can make a thing look like it should fit in, but that doesn't mean that it actually does.

[Elleth]

oooooh....

merf-example-pendant-01.jpg (24.63 KiB) Viewed 9336 times

https://www.etsy.com/listing/251379720/ ... arge-round

That said, lovely as it is I think it's too modern. The tell - just like in ren faire leatherwork - is I think in the hardware. In this case, the jump ring and bail to fasten it to a chain.
Perhaps done with an integral cast-in loop like this it would feel more period -

merf-example-pendant-02.jpg (72.98 KiB) Viewed 9336 times

https://www.etsy.com/listing/193225934/ ... celtic-tin