Gold plated Replica Viking Age Key Pendant

This pretty gold plated  pendant symbolizes a Viking period Key. It would have been worn by women 1000 years ago to show that they were in charge of the household and the land. It meant that they were in control of all locked items - like the house and the chests of jewelry and money. It was the women and not their husbands who were in control of such things. This pendant is acceptable for use in a number of historical re-enactment groups.  It may be worn around the neck, or you could also remove the cord and affix to a string of beads between a pair of oval brooches. 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. It is cast in lead free pewter in Scotland, then gold plated, and comes with a length of black cord.