. . Hanna Aalto . .

Brooches from Kaukola grave 6 were acanthus brooches. More than ten this kind of brooches have been found in Finland and shores of Lake Ladoga now in Russia. Last this kind of brooch was found few years a go by metal detectionist visiting Ladoga area. This brooch design is derived from Viking era animal brooches and eastern acanthus patterns. If someone is interrested in tortoise brooches (and can read Finnish or German), he or she should read Julius Ailios book Karjalaiset soikeat kupurasoljet. This nearly 100 years old book contains lots of detailed information about tortoise brooches and their decorative styles.

My brooches are sand casted of tin bronze. I will remake them lost wax method in future, since sand casted ones are not very sharp and casting has too much bubble marks.

Real acanthus brooches are huge, more than 9cm long. This big brooches would look oversized on me, so my brooches are slightly smaller. Brooch model is made of Super sculpey and pp-100 plastic padding. I did carving with Dremel and dentists drilling bits.

This kind of hard plastic brooch can be used when making sand casting molds or wax models for lost wax casting. Making wax brooch is quite easy. Press image of the brooch to wet clay and pour molten wax in. Take care that there is no air bubbles between clay and wax. Clean wax and cast it inside your casting mold material.