2 10, 2017

Museum Monday: Viking Round Box Brooches

By |October 2nd, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , , |0 Comments

These Round Box Brooches were worn by Viking women to secure their shawls at their collarbone. They were use to hold small objects. They were ornately carved and often showed intertwined patterns and depictions of animals. Museum Monday is an every other week series about museum news, objects, and reviews.

4 09, 2017

Museum Monday: The Hiddensee Treasure

By |September 4th, 2017|Categories: Museums, Travel|Tags: , , , , , , |0 Comments

This amazing Viking treasure was revealed in 1873 after flooding on the German island of Hiddensee on the Baltic Sea. It is believed to have been created in the late Viking Age (10th century) possibly for the Danish King Harald Bluetooth. It was all pure gold and weighs about 600 grams. The center piece in the above photo is a fibula (brooch) and contains imagery of both Viking and Christian symbols. Scandinavian metalsmiths were renowned for their skill, and the detail of twisting gold represents snakes or dragons. Imagery on the pendants combined an eagle or owl head almost forming a Thor-like hammer