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Pewtr-Spangle-art - 9/25/15

"A Pewter Spangle Event Token" by Master Crispin Sexi.

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NOTICE -

This article was added to this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium, with the permission of the author.

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,

Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous

stefan at florilegium.org

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You can find more work by this author on this website:

http://aelflaed.homemail.com.au

A Pewter Spangle Event Token

by Master Crispin Sexi

September 2006

I offered to make a pewter event token for the Politarchopolan Baronial Investiture of Alisandro & Isobel in 2006. The event steward was quite happy for me to take on the job, which she was otherwise going to have to design and get commercially made. She requested 200 tokens and that I incorporate the following items in the design:

"Politarchopolis", the name of our barony.

A griffin, the emblem of our barony.

"ASXLI", the year of our society.

"Edmund" and Leta", the outgoing Baron and Baroness

"Alisandro" and "Isobel", the incoming Baron and Baroness

That is a heck of a lot of writing for a token, but I said I'd see what I could do.

For inspiration I scanned through various source books for medieval trinkets, and eventually spotted a section on "spangles" in the Museum of London Dress Accessories book. The spangles were shaped like a small coin with a flange at the top, like a medal. The book cites examples from the late 12th century up to mid 14th century. While the book didn't draw many conclusions as to what spangles were used for, whether they were pilgrim tokens, heraldic symbols or just shiny decorations, the two holes at the top and the flat nature of the item make it a good choice for suspending from ribbon or sewing to clothing. More to the point the spangles were cast from pewter, and many had animals on the front - just what I was looking for.

My design for the event token incorporated a central griffin, encircled by the lettering "POLITARCHOPOLIS" and "ASXLI". The border was two circles with a row of dots, since both appear to be typical of the real spangles. On the flange at the top I put a row of vertical lines, fanning outwards to match the shape of the flange.

The reverse side of the original spangles was blank, but since I had run out of space on the front, I placed the initials E L A I on the back in gothic font to represent the four baronial people.

Photos

Fig 1: A guide bump, for lining up the front and back of the mould.

Fig 2: I used blutac to check the shape and pattern in the mould as I carved it.

Fig 3: The two halves of the mold. Writing backwards using a knife is a bit tricky. Also note that the two bumps to make the holes in the flange are sloped to prevent the metal grabbing hold of them as it cools and shrinks.

Fig 4: The two parts held together.

Fig 5: The cast. Note that the hand has two gloves on. I found I could cast about three times before the mould became too hot to handle even with two layers of gloves.

Fig 6: The cast, still in the mould.

Fig 7: The cast with the blob cut off.

Fig 8: From left to right, different test casts as the mould is carved.

Fig 9: The front of the spangle.

Fig 10: The back of the spangle.

Fig 11: A pile of pewter spangles.

Fig 12: The finished spangles suspended on red wool.

Bibliography

Egan, Geoff and Pritchard, Frances, Dress Accessories c.1150 - c.1450, The Boydell Press, Woodbridge, England, [1991] 2002

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Copyright 2006 by Jaysen Ollerenshaw. <crispin at homemail.com.au>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited. Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.