Title: Swan Maiden Casket
Artist: Steph Lusted
Myths & Legends Exhibition
Limited Edition of 10
No.2 /10 - SOLD
No.3 /10 - Available for pre-order
Please note: Swan Maiden Casket No.3 /10 is currently under construction. This piece is available to pre-order/ purchase
Materials: Sterling Silver, 24ct Gold Leaf
Dimensions: W60 x D30 x H52 mm
The Swan Maiden is crafted in Sterling Silver. She has a hinged section in her feather cloak, which reveals a secret compartment to store a keepsake.
Swan Maidens in Myth:
International myths and stories of Swan Maidens can vary in detail, but all usually feature a Swan who shapeshifts into a young woman when she removes her cloak of feathers to bathe. The woman is seen by a man who falls in love with her and in order to marry her, he hides her feather cloak so she may not fly away. Some years later, the woman discovers the hidden feather cloak and immediately flies back to her homeland.
Swan maidens feature in Wayland the Smith (Franks casket, British Museum) as Weyland’s wife, Hervor, along with her sisters were all swan maidens. First seen with her swan sisters bathing in a lake, their swan-feather capes alongside them on the shore. They were all Valkyries who used their feather capes to fly. Similar to the myth of the swan maiden are ‘selkies’ who also shapeshift between the form of an animal (seal) and a woman by removing their seal skin.
