Explorations Into Liminality
“and there came an arm and a hand above the water and met it and caught it, and so shook it thrice and brandished it, and then vanished away the hand with the sword in the water.”

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Glass Jewels

I have long been obsessed with ancient Roman glass and finally have put my own hand and eye to the creation of some special designs. Sterling silver and precious metal clay accents are a gorgeous touch.


 These ancient fragments are found all over the ancient Roman world, and today the most plentiful sources seem to be Israel and Afghanistan. The glass has been buried for many centuries- some of it even more than 2,000 years. They've been drilled and shaped recently, but retain the gorgeous iridescence that has developed through centuries of chemical reaction to the environment. The climate in the Middle East combines hot temperatures and flash flooding; the centuries of this exposure caused chemical changes in the glass in conjunction with the minerals present in the soil. The iridescence produced is simply stunning, and these shards absolutely become jewels the way they refract the light and change colors.


Ancient Roman Glass and Silver Spirals

Ancient Roman Glass and Gemstones

Ancient Roman Glass and Silver Discs

3 comments:

stregata said...

It would be difficult not to be fascinated by these ancient glass pieces. The earrings are beautiful!

Cameron said...

Ooooo.....Julie, I had no idea this existed! As a lover of Sea Glass, these ancient pieces intrigue me!! How beautiful, made even more lovely with your eye for design and composition!
Gorgeous :0)

LuLu Kellogg said...

These are absolutely beautiful. You always amaze me with your lovely work.

I am off to see what else I missed in Blogland. I am "grounded" for the next 3 weeks after having a nasty appendix out so I am bored out of my skull!

Fa la la.

Meh.

Love,
LuLu~*xoxo