Tonight, I found an interesting news article on Yahoo about a find of buried treasure in Austria. About four years ago, a man was digging in his back yard when he unearthed an assortment of "more than 200 rings, brooches, ornate belt buckles, gold-plated silver plates and other pieces or fragments, many encrusted with pearls, fossilized coral and other ornaments." However, he only brought them to the attention of the authorities this week.
The jewels are estimated to be about 650 years old, i.e., from the fourteenth century or so. The article includes two pictures; one of a flower-shaped brooch, and one of a striking sapphire ring with four garnets. I commend the article to my readers, some of whom may be interested enough in 14th century costume and culture to wish to follow up on the find.
EDIT: I got the details of the announcement wrong. According to the Yahoo article, it's unclear when the man first told authorities of his find; but the authorities first reported the trove on Friday the 22nd.
EDIT: I got the details of the announcement wrong. According to the Yahoo article, it's unclear when the man first told authorities of his find; but the authorities first reported the trove on Friday the 22nd.
Thanks! I am just now working on a 14th century outfit and am looking for inspiration...
ReplyDeleteFanny: I'm glad it was useful. I thought the brooch looked kind of cheap and trivial, but that the ring was lovely.
ReplyDeleteIf you want more inspiration, try and get a copy of Margaret Scott's book Medieval Dress and Fashion may be useful to you; it has great (color) pictures. I blogged about it here. Scott also has a new book out this year, Fashion in the Middle Ages; I don't know what that's going to be like in terms of inspiration pictures, however.
Good luck with your outfit! Feel free to come back and visit when you have pictures of your work to link to. :-)