Borre Style Chain Spreader, Bead Hanger, Chatelaine - 5305B

In the Viking Age, chain spreaders / bead hangers / chatelaines were worn in pairs, hung below oval or round brooches. They were used to display strings of colored glass beads and other treasured charms and ornaments. Small tools could be hung from them such as scissors, tweezers or needle cases. This may also be worn singly when used as a chatelaine to carry favorite tools and amulets, hung below a brooch or dangling from a separate chain. They came in many styles from practical and simple to highly ornate. This elegant replica of a Viking Age chain spreader is made in the Borre Style (circa 1000 AD) with interlocking gripping beasts in ring-chain motif supporters. It is designed to be hung from a brooch or suspended from a chatelaine. Rings below allow it to serve as hangers for bells, charms and small tools. It is modeled after an original artifact found in the Viking settlement of Novgorod and now in a private collection. Bronze 52 mm W x 48 mm H 2.125 in W x 2. in H