SUN
WHEEL (BELT-JEWELRY)
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The
sami women attached a special jewelry to their broad leather
belts. This belt-jewelry was either made of metal or of reindeer
horn.
Under the belt-jewelry the women hung their knives, needle-cases, spoon-bags , scissor-covers and purses. The keys for the storehouses and treasury boxes were additionally attached to the belt-jewelry when they moved with their reindeer herds.
Some models of our belt-jewelry are from the Middle Ages. They were found beside ancient sami sacrificial stones in Sweden. The scientists assume that the motives are sun wheels or sun-symbols . Thereby the belt-jewelry got their name: sun wheel.
The name sun wheel is modern and was used for the first time at Juhls Silverworkshop in the middle of the 1960's .
Most of our sun wheels originate from belt-jewelry made of reindeer-horn. To make jewelry which is fit for the modern women we had to decrease the size of all the original sun wheels.
Tana Gull og Sølvsmie AS -
THE - place to buy Sami Silver in Northern Norway.