Staffordshire Hoarder
On this page you can follow the making of The Staffordshire Hoarder step-by-step.
After the initial concept sketch, as you can see, the sculpt pretty much starts with a big blob of wax and some bent wire!
Wings and tail next. Wire and aluminium mesh to give the wings their form.
The dragon's limbs are now blocked in to create the form and pose. You can now begin to see how the finished piece is going to look.
Wings fleshed out with Sculpey polymer clay
Starting to block in the shape of the dragon
The mesh is now cut to give the wings their shape.
Started to flesh out the base design.
Hoarder and me (for scale)
Miliput claws used to block in feet
The devil's in the detail!
The finished piece
The painted piece
Lichfield Cathedral portrayed on reverse side
Wording on certificate
The Staffordshire Hoard was found in 2009, scattered just below the surface of a field at Hammerwich, a village on the south-eastern verge of Cannock Chase, near to Lichfield. More than 3,500 pieces, of what archaeologists call "warrior bling" - sword, shield and helmet mounts - was discovered by a local metal detectorist. The Saxon hoard was nearly all gold, more than six kilos, with a small amount of silver.
The pieces are nearly all broken and twisted, wrenched from their original mounts, and assumed to be booty.
The Anglo-Saxons believed dragons had the gift of vision, wisdom and prophecy - dragons were considered the guardians of all knowledge and wisdom.