Viking Bead No. W1 / Hole 4 mm

Small Viking bead with a knot motif.

This Viking-era bead, featuring a decoration in the form of a knot motif, was inspired by historical examples from the Viking Age.

Due to its small size, the bead is ideal as a decorative spacer between two larger bronze or glass beads. However, this small Viking bead also works very well as a hair bead.

In Viking-era beads, small spheres and fine wires were often soldered onto the bead using intricate, delicate craftsmanship.
Our reproduction, on the other hand, is cast entirely in one piece, whilst still beautifully showcasing the filigree design.

Dimensions: 0.6 x 0.5 cm. Hole diameter 4 mm.

This Viking jewellery is available in high-quality bronze, genuine silver-plated or 925 sterling silver.

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During the Viking Age, it was very common to decorate beads for necklaces with elaborate, filigree granulation decoration in the form of fine silver wires, strands of beads and spheres; the goldsmiths were masters at crafting small works of art using the simplest of means.
A repoussé or cast base form made of thin silver sheet was used as the foundation for the granulation decoration; the granulated decorative elements were then soldered onto this, with the solder leaving no traces visible to the naked eye, so that it appeared as though the delicate granulations were virtually floating above the surface.
Whilst granulation was initially common on disc-shaped gold pendants in the 8th century, it became increasingly prevalent on spherical gold beads and gold bracteates in the 9th century. By the 11th century, gold granulation had become increasingly widespread.