farolfus

Rhenen 193 B

For the most part, my focus is on making stamping dies and learning more about the underlying technology and craft. Making the actual pots is often secondary – I make the pot because I need something to test out the stamps on. In this case, though, I saw this little pot go by in aContinue reading “Rhenen 193 B”

Rhenen Grave 562 E

I was intrigued when I saw this Frankish pot from the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden go by in the museum database, since the decorative stamping was unusually minimalist compared to many others. This shape is called “biconic” in English, the form is essentially two conical portions, although if you are searching in databases in other languages,Continue reading “Rhenen Grave 562 E”

Beaker from Santa Giulia

This was a special request and part of a two-part project done to fulfill my end of a trade. The other party had travelled to Brescia and had a number of photos of pieces of Langobard pottery from the museum at Santa Giulia. He requested a pair of these beakers and a jug based onContinue reading “Beaker from Santa Giulia”

Kaiseraugst

As a surprise for two reenactors who focus on what is now Switzerland in the 6th century CE, I did some digging (figurative, of course) to find some stamped pottery motifs that would be appropriate for that time and place so that I could make them some little beakers. I ran across a couple ofContinue reading “Kaiseraugst”

The Biella Flask

When Otto von Hessen published his 1968 book on Langobard ceramics from Italy, he included two examples of this type of ceramic canteen, sometimes referred to as a “pilgrim flask.” One of them, from Biella, was completely covered in stamped decoration, so I decided to reconstruct a set of stamp dies to use on aContinue reading “The Biella Flask”

How it all started

As a reenactor, I mostly portray a late 6th/early 7th century CE Langobard from what is now northern Italy. In my “normal” life, I started making pottery again in 2014 after a long hiatus, and was often puttering away making teapots and mugs on a kickwheel in the garage. More recently, while researching Langobard clothingContinue reading “How it all started”

Experimental underwear

If that isn’t a clickbait title, I don’t know what is. Seriously, though, this was a little project I did to try to understand not just *how* the garment was put together, but how the maker might have patterned the garment for a specific recipient – that is, how they determined the proportions and dimensionsContinue reading “Experimental underwear”

Who the heck are the Langobards?

I get asked this question occasionally at events – usually as the followup to “What are you? You don’t really look like a Viking or an Anglo-Saxon and your shoes are weird.” The shortest answer I can usually provide is, “well, they were sort of like the Angles or Saxons of Italy.” The rest ofContinue reading “Who the heck are the Langobards?”