A Scandinavian silversmith worked with painstaking detail to craft this small, intricate crucifix pendant in the ninth century A.D.
Excavated at the ancient Viking site of Birka on the island of Björkö, less than 20 miles west of Stockholm in Lake Mälaren, it is the earliest known depiction of the crucifixion from Scandinavia. It was found in a woman’s grave.
The details of the Christ figure are formed with tiny strings of silver beads and a few larger silver balls that represent the eyes and inverted-teardrop face, torso, bound arms and legs, and even individual fingers.
The pendant is on display at the National Museums, Scotland, as part of their Vikings! exhibit running through May 12, 2013. A major theme of the exhibit is exploring the gradual transition that took place throughout the Viking Age (c. 750–1100 A.D.) from the Old Norse pantheistic religion to Christianity.
A Scandinavian silversmith worked with painstaking detail to craft this small, intricate crucifix pendant in the ninth century A.D.
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