I created this necklace after being inspired by a movie. What the movie was I can't for the life of me remember, but this necklace was the wonderful product. I am always inspired by the Celts, and Boudicca the Celtic Warrior Queen is one of those people that, despite the totally oral nature of her culture (she had to be recorded by the Romans, certainly no mean feat), has been remembered for the last 1700 years due to her sheer will and determination, and yes, great love of her people.
Made a Regent Queen after her husband died, she was thrust into power in a time when (though the Celts allowed women rulers) women were NOT to be in power according to the Romans, the largest threat to the Celts at that time. They actually believed that the fact that Celts allowed women to rule made the Celtic people more barbarous than ever! The Romans came, publicly beat Boudicca, raped her daughters in front of her, took her husband's belongings, tried to take her tribe's lands, and attempted to force the Celts to become slaves for the Romans.
Boudicca had other ideas.
Outraged at these atrocities, she fought back, winning a few major (and very bloody) victories before the Romans finally conquered her tribe, and left her to fade into obscurity. No one knows what happened to her, but I can imagine that after all of this heartache, she would have welcomed a life in the background.
I thought of her courage and decided to make a necklace made of hand formed hearts. I took copper wire and cut it into 21- 4 inch sections, then hand formed each section into a Celtic styled heart. I then hammered them flat to give them a slight luster finish and durability. To connect them I used silver rings and made a custom hook and eye clasp from sterling silver wire to connect it. For a final finish I attached Czech glass beads in a black dagger shape to dangle from a few of the hearts - as a tribute to her final 'heartache' at not being able to save her culture from the invading Romans.
This piece is currently for sale on my
Etsy store, under the
NeoAmour Boudicca Celtic section. I am able to lengthen or shorten the necklace if you desire, and I can also remove the dangles if you would prefer. I can even make it out of sterling silver wire, or 14karat gold filled wire, all you have to do is ask :)
Thanks for joining my time-travel adventures today!
