Made by HandYear round
Silversmithing
A working tradition, not jewellery
Sámi silver is a working tradition rather than a jewellery one. The old pieces are collar brooches, belt fittings and spoons, and much of the silver a family owned was wealth that could be worn, moved and pawned — which is why the forms are heavy and the craftsmanship is in the joins.
The characteristic detail is a hanging fringe of small conical drops that move and chime. They are not decorative in origin: the sound was the point.
There is also pewter thread work, which is silver's poorer and more beautiful relation — pewter drawn into a wire fine enough to be couched onto reindeer leather in patterns, and the single most recognisable Sámi craft.