Adjustable strap purse finished.

[billybopp]

20 hours ago, TSes said:

I assume that border stamp was made by one of Bob Beards' ancestors. 

19 hours ago, immiketoo said:

Artistic license.  You COULD do it by hand and some of the art in Acropolis Museum in Athens has something similar, if not quite as crisp.

Some things never change.  Then as now, some people had more money than others and liked to flaunt it with a bit o' bling.  When people are willing to pay for bling, there are always going to be others willing to make something to accommodate, for profit.  Where there is a craftsman willing to make and sell things with bling, there's another craftsman willing to make the tools needed for said bling. 

I could be wrong, but I think Bob Beard hand-cuts his tools.  Stamps were almost certainly made - probably using brass - possibly cast then hand finished, maybe just cut from a chunk of brass.  They would not have lasted like steel does, but long enough to makes lots of bling before they wore out.  As for the repeated wave patter, who knows ...Maybe. A Greek key pattern seems pretty likely - they seemed to like that one well enough to have it named for 'em!

I also wonder if somebody willing to pay for that kind of bling might have been willing to pay for a bit of metal too for clasps and such, maybe even made from gold?  Maybe a gemstone button or two?  We'll probably never know, but it's interesting to think about.

No matter what the ancients did, your work looks fantastic, Mike!

- Bill

 

 

 

 

[immiketoo]

Bill, 

You nailed it.  In the museum in Athens, there was a LOT of bling, and a lot of gold.  There's another design that was my first choice, its called a meandrous.  Sort of like the wave pattern but spirals.  At the price point for these, hand carving it was out of the question, and the leather wouldn't have supported it anyway.  Greek clothing and are was very detailed and their metal work was astounding.  So much precision in their surviving jewelry.  I just tried to channel some of the feeling of the things we say rather than recreate a specific piece.  Hopefully, the client will like them.