This handmade glass bead was created after a historical find from Ribe in Denmark – one of Scandinavia’s oldest towns and an important trading centre during the Viking Age.
As early as the beginning of the 8th century, merchants, craftsmen and travellers from many parts of Europe came together in Ribe. Glass beads were among the most sought-after trade goods of the period. But they were not merely traded in Ribe: archaeological evidence shows that glass beads were also produced there. Workshops, glass-working waste and unfinished beads bear witness to highly developed craftsmanship, making Ribe one of the most important centres of glass bead production in early Scandinavia.
Each of my beads is handmade using traditional lampwork techniques, bringing a small piece of this fascinating history into the present.