Something different ... rings of jet or shale

[Martin Moser]

Tried a quite different material recently for a change, namely jet. I was intrigued by the small objects (finger and arm rings, beads etc.) found at Southshields made of either jet or shale and after aquiring a suitable sized piece of jet tried my hand on one of the finger rings. As far as they are dated the rings fall into the 2nd - 4th centuries AD.





Literature: ALLASON-JONES, L. AND MIKET, R. Catalogue of Small Finds from South Shields Roman Fort. 1984 (Monograph series). Catalogue of all the small finds recovered from Arbeia Roman Fort prior to 1977.

[caiusbeerquitius]

Very nice, Martin! With what tools did you work the stone?

[Peroni]

Lovely work Martin!

There is a lot of Roman Jet in the Museum at York. Eboracum. Most of the jet comes from Whitby in Yorkshire.

I have a book at home of all the Jet finds in the museum. I will post the ISBN number when I get home. It may be of some interest to you.

[Martin Moser]

With what tools did you work the stone?

Tried all sorts as this was the first time, but it comes down to fine files, jeweller's saw with not too fine blades and sanding paper mostly. You have to be cautious when drilling since because of the consistency of the material the drill tends to clog up and you are in danger cracking the the whole piece then. Generally jet flakes easily when worked on, almost always in areas you wouldn't want it to ...

There is a lot of Roman Jet in the Museum at York. Eboracum. Most of the jet comes from Whitby in Yorkshire.
I have a book at home of all the Jet finds in the museum. I will post the ISBN number when I get home. It may be of some interest to you.

Thanks in advance, Adrian! Looking forward too checking it out if I can find it here :-) )

[Decimus Apollonius]

Very impressive Martin! How many hours do you have in this piece?

[Franklin]

Top work as usual Martin. I went through a big jewelery phase a couple of years ago, reading everything I could get my hands on. I thought the non-metallic finds were super interesting, since the very nature of the material (glass, jet, etc) ensures that intact finds are pretty rare.

My favorite books were by Catherine Johns of the British Museum. She's a lovely lady and agreed to meet for coffee last time I was in England. I think she was a little flabbergasted that a museum curator might have "fans" or "groupies".

[Martin Moser]

How many hours do you have in this piece?

Hard to say, since I worked on it on and off and also tried out various methods with this for me new material, but I think I could do one now in ca. 4 hours.

My favorite books were by Catherine Johns of the British Museum.

Thanks for the tip Franklin, I'll see what I can find from her here in the local libraries!

[Marcus Mummius]

Great work Martin!

[Franklin]

The Jewellery of Roman Britain
The Hoxne Treasure: An Illustrated Introduction
The Thetford Treasure: Roman Jewellery and Silver
and
The Snettisham Roman Jeweller's Hoard

...are the titles I have, all to be recommended. The top one being the most comprehensive of the four. Tons of great color plates as well as line drawings. And whole chapters devoted to construction methods. I was interested to learn just how much jewellery from the period was worked cold. It also gives you a HEFTY appreciation for all those engraved carnelians and intaglios when you realize they were designed using primitive rotary tools (no dremels in ancient Britain!).

I especially like the thoughtful consideration she gives to the jewellers themselves, outlining what their lives as skilled tradesmen might have been like, how they would have learned and practiced their profession, their standing in society, the conditions of their workshop, etc. You can tell she has a genuine respect for the artist as well as the art.

[Peroni]

Martin,

the book I referred to earlier is entitled
"Roman Jet in the Yorkshire Museum" by Lindsay Allason-Jones 1996

Published by :
Yorkshire Museum
Museum Gardens
York
YO1 2DR

ISBN No. 0 905807 17 0

It's full of 1:1 drawings of the jet and shale objects.

I'm sure if you contacted the museum, they could help you obtain a copy or alternatively, there's a RAT member or two that live in or near to York! (Mithras?) :wink:

[Martin Moser]

another little thing with this material you soldiers out there might make and try to impress your lass in the vicus with ;-) ) - bone/jet combination needles for her latest fashion hair style:





(also from South Shields, see above for Literature)

[Gaius Julius Caesar]

Nice work Martin! I see Adrian beat me too it! I was pretty intrigued by the Jet finds at York too! And bought the book! :lol: