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Chiara Francesca Arianna d'Onofrio

Opus interrasile
Silver Medallions

A brief History of the Opus interrasile

The Romans began to show this type of work in their metals. This type of worked silver migrated northward to the Irish region. There the work took on a more intricate turn and used more silver than gold. There are five surviving examples found in Pentney, Norfolk. They are in the British Museum. They are dated late eighth century. I have the book with me so that you may view the work.

I did not wish to have my first attempt to be as intricate as these. It took me two months to cut these creatures. Those broaches look as if they took a lifetime each. I do suspect that they may be partially opus interrasile and partial cast.

The Byzantine used it in as much gold work as they could. Very little silver work has been found prior to the 1600's. That point on it is seen in dishes, utensils, and the back of mirrors. The only source I have found for its use in jewelry has been in far distant past. Everything else has been cast work and engraving. It was difficult then as it is now.

Summary

The first time I created medallions of this type documenting their possible existence in Northern Europe in the early centuries was not one of the top five things in my mind. Creating something for two S.C.A. members that influenced me greatly was. I am only lucky that such an item existed in that time period and area.

The technique today is known as cutwork. In the beginning, it was called Opus interrasile. This is Latin phrase meaning work openings or piercing. The concept describes two movements of work, one is the actual piercing the other is the actual cutting in a lateral direction.

I took a 2-inch diameter disk of fine silver and took the sketches of the embroidered rendition of the heraldry I had drawn on rice paper and glued it onto the metal. I pierced small holes into the points of the drawing at points where I could insert the saw blades into and cut a smooth straight line.

The heraldry is called the sun in splendor. It is from "Elizabeth's Wardrobe unlocked". I will spend one week of the two months flattening and polishing the disk. This is my third endeavor in silver Opus interrasil.

Materials

1) 12 by 12, sheet of silver
2) Half circle silver wire
3) Jewelers Saw and blades
4) Rice paper
5) Lead pencil
6) Dividers
7) Water soluble glue
8) Polishing wheel
9) Jewelers Rouge
10) Drill with 1/64 and 1/32 drill bits

In 3500, BC the first bronze saw was found. There is evidence of Neolithic stone saws. Many scholars feel that the cutting technique can be further traced to those periods. However, the particular art form I have used was done with a saw developed specifically for cutwork in ancient Rome. The saw I speak of is a fine metal saw blade held in a "c" shaped frame under tension. The frame is presumed by archeologist to have been made of wood.

The rice paper is the paper of choice of my academic teacher, James Lynn of Austin, Texas. He was a traditionalist and cited sources from Japan that I could not find. He stated that this is the true way of transposing your image to the metal. Tracing paper is ok but rice is better and easier to clean off. I made a print out of the sun on the normal paper. The sun's images were found in the pages of Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlocked and the Fox-Davies book of heraldry. I used water-soluble glue to adhere it to the disk.

I used two different drill bits to pierce holes wherever a corner was created by the design. I carefully inserted my saw blades into the drilled holes while the blade was in the frame and created the tension I needed to cut the silver but not break my blades. I connected the pierces with as much curve as was allowable by the tension. Unfortunately the blades that I needed for the bit size that I used were not available and I had to use the next size down. (Mental note to self: practice with drill bit and saw blade on sample metal because gauges are not the same size!)

Once the cutting is complete, polishing begins. I used a polishing lathe with a varieties of fine grits so not to take too much of the silver away. Once that was completed, I buffed the disk.

A brief History of the Opus interrasile

The Romans began to show this type of work in their metals. This type of work was introduced northward to the Irish region. There the work took on a more intricate turn and used more silver than gold. There are five surviving examples found in Pentney, Norfolk. They are in the British Museum. They are dated late eighth century.

I did not wish to have my first attempt to be as intricate as this. Those broaches look as if they took a lifetime each. I do suspect that they may be partially opus interrasile and partial cast.

The Byzantine used it in as much gold work as they could. Very little silver work has been found prior to the 1600's. From this point on it is seen in dishes, utensils, and the back of mirrors. The only source I have found for its use in jewelry has been in far distant past. Everything else has been cast work and engraving. It was difficult then as it is now.

Baronessa Chiara Francesca Arianna d'Onofrio

JEWELRY, 7,000 Years: An International History and Illustrated Survey from the Collections of the British Museum.
Edited by Hugh Tait.
Harry N. Abrams Inc., Publishers, New York 1987
pp. 110, 111, 206, 236, 243.

Jewelry, Ancient to Modern, A studio book.
Edited by Anne Garside.
The Viking Press, Publisher, New York 1980.
pp 62, 63

A History of Jewelry, Five thousand years.
By J. Anderson Black.
Park Lane, Publisher, New York 1981.
pp 80, 120, 121

Southerby's Concise Encyclopedia of Silver,
Editor Charles Truman, Conran Octopus Limited, Publishing London 1993,
pg. 33

Phaidon Guide To Silver.
By Margaret Holland. Prentice-Hall, 1983, New Jersey.
pp. 15-51

Jewelry, Concepts and Technology.
By Oppi Untracht.
Doubleda & Company, Inc. Publisher, New York 1982.
pp. 89-109, 388-48, 633-661, 808-840.

A Complete Guide to Heraldry
By Arthur Charles Fox Davies
Bracken Books, 1993, London
pg. 296

Queen Elizabeth's Wardrobe Unlock'd.
by Janet Arnold.
Leeds, England: Maney,1988.
pg. 263

My work in the arts include:

Last Updated 9/29/2006