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WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago This week's #TBT featured work is one that dates back only to last fall, completed at the end of October. It's a commission from a dear friend, one that included a trio of bolos [and a pair of earrings, as well].
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago First, a little background: Our friend has inherited some very old coins, dating back more than a century to when coins were genuinely silver. He has two sons, and he wanted Wings to use the coins to create three bolos: one for himself, one for each of his sons, as a continuation of s family legacy.
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago All three were wrought in the same basic style, and set with the same type of gemstone, but the details differed so that each would be unique to its wearer.
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago We featured on in this space a few months ago [on the right in the group photo above]; this is the one on the left in that photo. Both were the sons' bolos; our friend's own will appear in some future post.
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago Like this others, this one began with the coin, hand-cranked through Wings's rolling repeatedly until it was the proper thinness and diameter [about 1.75", IIRC]. It's heavy labor, but it also requires great care to prevent cracking at the edges.
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago Once rolled to the proper size and shape, Wings turned to the detail work, beginning with the stampwork border. Each of the three was slightly different, this one featuring a flowering-medicine motif repeated around the edge, linked by 5-pointed stars.
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago The pattern was deeply embossed, creating thick, smooth, elegant edges that Wings saw-cut freehand around the design and filed smooth.
WingsNDNSilver · 2 · 1d ago After doming the concha, repoussé-fashion, and dding the bolo assembly on the reverse, Wings formed the Triskelion by creating, freehand, 3 separate solid sterling silver spirals, hand-coiled and overlaid.
WingsNDNSilver · 9 · 1d ago He then set the stone, a highly domed bloodstone oval in deep teal green with drops of rusty red. It's a gem that has meaning in Celtic traditions. The tightly woven black leather cord is tipped in sterling silver.
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