In homage to Scotland, and inspired by the leather pouches used to house small valuables or coins during the Viking era, I created this elegant Celtic knot thistle drawstring purse pendant. Many Viking-era pouches were shaped like a lyre, and a few owned by nobles featured intricately tooled metal frames with leather cases.
I learned the technique for this piece from Holly Gage's Jorvik Viking Purse class. The case consists of two sterling silver panels hinged at the bottom with hand riveted castle hinges. The thistle, with its Celtic knot stem and leaves, is one of my own designs, for which I created a texture plate to impress the sterling silver metal clay before firing each piece in the kiln and riveting them together at the hinges to create a fully functional decorative pouch. An amethyst purple cubic zirconia adorns the front, and the sterling silver drawstring chain is finished with faceted amethyst and peridot beads, like the green and purple of the thistle itself. The supple leather pouch lining inside the purse is made of royal purple lambskin.
I created a chain for this piece with sterling silver wire links in beaded knot designs that echo the lines in the thistle design, complete with more amethyst and peridot beads.
Perfect for housing something small and valuable, like a ring or a special coin, this is a statement piece sure to draw attention, questions, and compliments.
The chain lengths on either side of the pendant purse are long, and together with the pendant piece the overall length is approximately 31 inches, which is in between matinee and opera length for a necklace.
