Gold Plated Replica St Ninian's Hoard Pictish Pennanular

This gold-plated pewter penannular brooch is based on one from the St. Ninians Isle hoard from Scotland that has been dated to around the 8th century.  The eyes are set with red glass. The brooch is 71mm wide and the pin length is 115mm. It is suitable for holding heavy fabric. Gilding, or gold plating, was carried out on many jewelry items in the Viking age, using the mercury gilding process. This piece has a 1micron thick layer of gold, plated over pewter, to give an attractive representation of what some of these Viking age pieces may have looked like when they were first made.