Beaded Necklace in the Style of Lord Leicester's

 I recently made a necklace inspired by late period Elizabethan portraiture. 

This piece is made of agate and glass beads and is inspired by the necklace worn in this portrait of Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester c. 1560 (Portrait attributed to Steven van der Meulen [active: 1543 - 1563/4] and held in the Wallace Collection).

Image from: Wallace Collection Online - Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

The necklace has three strands of tiger tail which the white glass beads are strung on, and all three wires go through the black agate beads. The ends are finished with a silver hook and rod clasp. I made the necklace shorter than Lord Leicester's because it was made for a lady to wear unadorned and her style is less flamboyant than his.

New Renaissance Bling!

What a great week for Renaissance bling! My talented friend Gabriel at Flashes of Flattery (http://flashesofflattery.blogspot.com.au/) made me this lovely Elizabethan necklace out of seed beads:

 And I picked this pretty necklace up from a thrift shop for $4. The pearls are just plastic, and a bit discoloured, but I like the colour theme. I cleaned the beads, and re-strung them on tiger tail.