The Viking World: A History in ObjectsMain MenuGallery viewA galleryTag Cloudtag cloud pageThemesA path of thematic categoriesAuthor IndexExplore the collection by authorWorks CitedReferencesAdam Bigelow3afa9c7ecebf516bba6609664b1b12f79c54bf77Caitlin Donahue61b7e986e7c71d400e5c803912ed83c0cf65252fCaroline Harvey1783f21a5882b5b4d3d0b6c174d058052a5ff7eaEdward Hershewee701ef220480b51ca728fc9c719bc094cf813655Martin Hoffmana1fd203afd9a84ee8db567e188cf6ed1d269386eTyler Hruby23493f763b312110686cfafc62578fd0ab5f3833Brittany N. Johnsonc1c1763339f8fa953e3c907c6bb8a3bad0c28b2cCarlos Lua Pineda0a28cc23b0aa00b4f24a9e205aeb57fbdb07ff01Moira McConnell710633400590ea38533ea3412c01fc5056288180Clara McCurdy9aec76477d0b55f9c685c47330d6786ec98182e1Elise McIlhaneyef48481634ff342c8b43c9d56f678b2d3562fb69Cameron Meikle669a5682bfbfd603130a26e25628f24eb07e6295Alexander Christopher Newkirk019c2f5b38c043507251d1789e2fdf47e61c3b7fBenja Reilly816c23aa0d444213fb2d1ef33555a15617e08228Oliver Statenc625ae8c3926f5e1a4268bc91d6a6f4cdb1e7fb6Liam Sullivanaa3a1dccb90c7fe4646b61c4af594abbb0c5574aRead Wilder31bf4715220144a665996f2e6cae80a1a8611eadAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
Ear Ring
12017-05-10T09:36:13-07:00Aliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10164562Copper-alloy likely ear ring of an Anglo-Scandinavian style, decorated with a ring-and-dot design.plain2017-05-10T09:45:09-07:00Foreman, Martin. Ear Ring. Still Image, March 21, 2017. NLM-6309B5. Portable Antiquities Scheme. https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/841367.850ad-1000adNLM-6309B5CC BY53.3972693,-0.7570952Copper AlloyPortable Antiquities SchemeWest Lindsey District, EnglandViking AgeAliza Yazdanicd49f227d88c72331226ddf574bf56c37308cd10
12017-05-24T10:09:20-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707deaMap ViewAustin Mason2An interactive map of all the objects in the collectiongoogle_maps2017-05-24T11:39:30-07:00Austin Masonf6137011c68eb792c6e14634815583b15e707dea
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1media/NLM35717.jpg2017-05-18T13:15:16-07:00Anglo-Scandinavian Ear Ring18Object pageplain2017-09-17T13:58:10-07:00This copper ring provides evidence for a unique Anglo-Scandinavian style of jewelry as its decoration is characteristics of Scandinavian styles but it was found in Lincolnshire, England, which was well within the Danelaw, and is dated with in the time-range for Norse settlement in Britain.[1] It has one pointed end, very like a pin-lug, typical of Anglo-Saxon style fitting, and one hooked sharp narrow end, which looks very similar to a Scandinavian hooked catch plate.[2] This fusion of styles is therefore characteristic of a distinctive Anglo-Scandinavian style of metalwork.
The ring is too lightweight to have been a finger ring. Hair pins were common at the time and pins similar to this ring were found in Russia. However, the ring’s small size makes it perhaps too small to serve as a hair pin. A catch plate and pin-lug combination would probably have made it non-secure on a necklace, so the ring was likely used as an earring. Rings were often used as sings of wealth or alliances in Nordic cultures.[3] Kings and other leaders would give their men rings to signify alliances and two interlocking rings meant the wearer was in an alliance. A man might give his wife a ring which she would use to display her wealth. It is also possible, although unlikely, that the ring was part of a ringed pin, made by a Norse craftsman in an Irish style.[4]
The ear ring is made of copper-alloy and is decorated with eighteen circular stamps in a ring-and-dot style that is more distinctive of Nordic metalwork than that of Anglo-Saxon. The rings have a diameter of 1.2mm and are each surrounded by an additional ring with a diameter of 2.3mm. It has been proposed that ring-dots are derived from an acanthus motif, a plant ornamentation characteristic of the Mammen and Ringerike styles of viking art.[5][6]
According to the Portable Antiquities Scheme, the estimated time period for this object is late Early Medieval, circa 850 ce. to 1000ce. The artistic styles of Mammen and Ringerike were popular during a slightly later period—950 to 1100 ce., which began just after the end of the Danelaw. These dates suggest that the earring was likely both produced and deposited in the ground right around the end of the Danelaw soon after 950 ce.
The ear ring supports the argument for a Norse settlement in England during the Early Medieval period, as well as supporting the existence of a unique Anglo-Scandinavian style of art and jewelry.