Silver Neck Ring
Silver Neck Ring
This is a silver neck ring. Neck rings were similar to arm rings that the Vikings used in terms of how they functioned. Their main difference was that the neck ring was worn around the neck, while the arm ring was worn around wrist. They had financial purposes as well as decorative purposes. This neck ring was made in Ireland between late-9th and 10th centuries, and discovered around the same area in 1880. It was made of silver, so it had a decent economic value, and considering that silver was a major store of wealth, this was an important item in the lives of Norsemen. This is a very important piece mainly because it helps us better understand both the artistic style and the way of economic transactions of the era it was used in.
Neck rings had an important function in the society in terms of economic transactions1. Although they were used as ornaments and signs of wealth, fashion was not their main function. They also served as their owners’ savings accounts. People did not have common currencies as we do today, so they used simple measures of gold and silver as means of economic transaction. Neck rings, just like arm rings and hacksilver, which are pieces of cut silver items used as currency depending on their weight, served as a type of currency commonly used during the Vikings Age for their ease of carrying.
A very significant piece of evidence that shows the importance of neck rings is seen in the writing of Ibn Faddan, who was a 10th Century Arab traveler. In his notes, he says “The man, if he possesses ten thousand dirhams, has a neck ring made for his wife. If he has twenty thousand in his possession, then he has two neck rings made for her. And so his wife receives another neck ring with the addition of each ten thousand dirhams. Accordingly it often happens that there are a number of neck rings upon the neck of one of them.”2 This excerpt from a traveler’s writing provides powerful evidence to the claim that neck rings were not just ornaments, that they served other purposes such as the showing of wealth.
We can learn more about this silver neck ring by considering its value in a broader context, which is mainly the economic and social life of the era it was used in. This evaluation would eventually lead us to the conclusion that the mentioned neck ring was not only an ornament, but it was also a economic and social device.
This is a silver neck ring. Neck rings were similar to arm rings that the Vikings used in terms of how they functioned. Their main difference was that the neck ring was worn around the neck, while the arm ring was worn around wrist. They had financial purposes as well as decorative purposes. This neck ring was made in Ireland between late-9th and 10th centuries, and discovered around the same area in 1880. It was made of silver, so it had a decent economic value, and considering that silver was a major store of wealth, this was an important item in the lives of Norsemen. This is a very important piece mainly because it helps us better understand both the artistic style and the way of economic transactions of the era it was used in.
Neck rings had an important function in the society in terms of economic transactions1. Although they were used as ornaments and signs of wealth, fashion was not their main function. They also served as their owners’ savings accounts. People did not have common currencies as we do today, so they used simple measures of gold and silver as means of economic transaction. Neck rings, just like arm rings and hacksilver, which are pieces of cut silver items used as currency depending on their weight, served as a type of currency commonly used during the Vikings Age for their ease of carrying.
A very significant piece of evidence that shows the importance of neck rings is seen in the writing of Ibn Faddan, who was a 10th Century Arab traveler. In his notes, he says “The man, if he possesses ten thousand dirhams, has a neck ring made for his wife. If he has twenty thousand in his possession, then he has two neck rings made for her. And so his wife receives another neck ring with the addition of each ten thousand dirhams. Accordingly it often happens that there are a number of neck rings upon the neck of one of them.”2 This excerpt from a traveler’s writing provides powerful evidence to the claim that neck rings were not just ornaments, that they served other purposes such as the showing of wealth.
We can learn more about this silver neck ring by considering its value in a broader context, which is mainly the economic and social life of the era it was used in. This evaluation would eventually lead us to the conclusion that the mentioned neck ring was not only an ornament, but it was also a economic and social device.
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