I've had the great privilege of being involved with some of the activities associated with its visit to National Museum Wales in Cardiff, amongst which was being invited to design a knitted interpretation of the cape to be used in the Clore Discovery Gallery as a handling and discussion tool.
Our bronze age ancestors did not use knitting, but they certainly had an eye for design, and the original beaten gold cape is ornamented with textures believed to represent beads and draped textiles. Knitted structures work well to evoke the general feel of this in a fun way which also stimulates discussion about comparisons between flexible textile forms and the rigid structure of the metal version which would have restricted arm motion.
Several people have expressed an interest in having a go at knitting one of these themselves, so I'm delighted to be able to announce that the pattern for my 'knitted Mold Cape' is now available as a Ravelry download: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bronze-age-capelet
Bronze Age Capelet:
1 comment:
What a fun design project! I remember learning about the Mold Cape, and poring over photographs, and daydreaming about the original creator and period, but it never once occurred to me that it might be reinterpreted as a knit! Lovely! :)
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