Roman-style chain for a Knight

Posted on January 15, 2020 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

Goal: Make a chain for my friend, Sir Istvan, that has that bulky An Tir look but without neck-crippling weight.

His face immediately after being presented with the finished chain. I guess he liked it because he put it on with his old one! 🙂
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Drusa & Tullia’s Guide to War

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

WAR! What is it good for?! Seeing the stars and trees and fog, hanging out with friends, eating wonderful period food, seeing people I love and admire being honored with awards… HUH say it again, y’all…

An Tir / West War is a glorious experience, but one you should be prepared for. Rather than give you all the practical advice* you find in the usual event-prep articles, I’m going to pull back the curtain and give you the real skinny.

*But for reals, bring baby wipes. They are essential for everything from foot-cleaning before bed to biffies without TP. And a French shower in the afternoon is surprisingly refreshing.

  • Remember your tent poles. All of them. If you are one short, you will have to do this!
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Honey Poppyseed Dormice

Posted on June 30, 2019 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

“The dishes for the first course included… some small iron frames shaped like bridges supporting dormice sprinkled with honey and poppy seed.” – Petronius, Trimalchio’s Feast

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Upper class ancient Roman kitchens were outfitted with special pottery homes, glirarium, for dormice (small rodents a bit bigger than a field mouse). They had little ledges and air holes to keep the critters happy. True to Roman life, this practice was both practical and luxurious: The dormice were fed kitchen scraps until properly fattened up, and then they made a lovely snack at the next banquet!

Sometimes they were stuffed with pork, but I prefer this honey & poppyseed delicacy.

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Lunulas

Posted on May 29, 2019 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM
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My dear friend Vestia Antonia Aurelia was Laureled (a lifetime achievement award for the arts and sciences in the SCA) this past weekend.  She does Roman and Minoan portrayals. I wanted to make something for her, and for another friend, Marya Kargashina, who joined the Order of the Laurels a few months ago. Since both Romans and Russians used lunulas (worn by women as protective charms), I decided to make these. The third one went to Julia Sempronia, my first official Roman teacher. ❤

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Home Jewelry Studio & 1st Dapping Attempt

Posted on August 5, 2018 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

Making Roman jewelry means learning metalsmithing, and I’ve been bitten HARD by that bug. I just set up a mini-studio in my garage so I can practice without traveling across town to Fjorlief’s studio on those rare days when our schedules are compatible.

For the past six months I’ve been agonizing about period methods. Letting go of that after Athenaeum was wonderfully freeing.

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One of my long-term goals is to duplicate this bracelet, which will require soldering (I’ve got the basics already), dapping (shaping hemispheres from flat sheet metal), and die striking, casting or repousse (for the shells).

 

Here’s my first attempt at dapping. It was super fun!1.jpg   1-1.jpg

Stay tuned for more bumbling adventures! 🙂

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Athenaeum

Posted on July 1, 2018 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

 

36377410_1761123707300687_6648512600004886528_n.jpgYesterday was the first – but certainly not the last – An Tir Athenaeum. It was an Arts & Sciences “display for comments” event. Basically I signed up for a table, put out my jewelry and papers, and had enlightening chats with people all day, surrounded by a sea of tables with OTHER peoples’ fascinating work. No forms, no judging, no losers (we were all winners!). It was a delightfully welcoming format.

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Phallic Good Luck Charms

Posted on June 29, 2018 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

IMG_0189.jpgPhallic images were very popular in Ancient Rome to ward off the evil eye and generally be protective. These gold rings (British Museum collection) are child-sized. I made 2 silver rings (for Drusa and myself) and some charms. I wrote a paper on this topic a few years ago and bring a hard copy to events. It’s the one paper I don’t post online. 🙂

Note: It’s difficult to see in the pics below, but the left charm soldered with a space between the frank and the beans, so I made some 28ga wire pubic hair. I also got silly with the bail on that one, so it’s curly front and back, if you know what I mean.

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These were a ton of fun to make and I might need to crank a few more out…

UPDATE: I did indeed make more – they are available for sale on Etsy or you can email me! TulliaSat @ gmail

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Caius & Tullia get Married, as the Romans Do

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

Pictures and videos are still trickling in, but I wanted to post a few of my favorites so far. I will combine the pics and the documentation into a giant thing as soon as I can.

33775305_2032539903486033_7720608184515166208_nMost of the first ceremony is here: Video of pig sacrifice /reading of entrails (spoiler alert: no blood) and the rest of it (including me flubbing my ONE LINE and giggling like a maniac):  – both taken by Lissette de la Rose. Another view of the whole thing is here  by Dan Antal.33748359_10212264922280289_8506624750582235136_n.jpg

Unbelievable feast by Baroness Marian Staarveld. Wreaths and my hair by Mauera Cethin.

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Left to right: Caius, Tullia (me), Titus, Drusa (Pronuba), Doctore Decimus Varius Felix (Flamen Dialis), Magistra Julia Sempronia (Flaminica Dialis). Not pictured, our Pontifex Maximus, Davide Di Francesco Dominici.

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Pleated Stola

Posted on May 20, 2018 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

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Palazzo Massimo alle terme.jpgEvery Late Republican bride should have a new stola for after the wedding, right? I made the pleated one because 1) it was the only stola type I hadn’t made, and 2) it’s the only non-rectangular, non-dead-easy garment the Romans wore, aside from the toga, in my period.  And of course I needed something complicated to add to my spreadsheet of Things To Do. LOL

I probably could have made my pleats smaller, but I am ok with them as is. They are just more like the ones worn by the male actor (above right, Terra cotta, Naples National Archeological Museum, from Pompeii) than the female statue (above left). Left, Palazzo Massimo alle terme.

pleated stola 1 I also have a white linen tunica recta to wear under it. See you at Egils!

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More wedding stuff

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Sharon Rose, LAc, MSAOM

Things are coming along… I finished our Hercules knot (a common Roman wedding ring motif) rings yesterday. I will type up a project paper on the Hercules series I’ve done right after the wedding. I hope you’re coming! Everyone is invited! Spreadsheet here, Event info here, FB Event, FB wedding.

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