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
12017-05-21T13:04:08-07:00Lozengiform Brooch7object pageplain2017-09-21T22:43:27-07:00This lozenge brooch shows how traditional styles were preserved while Scandinavians were in foreign lands. The brooch was discovered in Suffolk, England via metal detector in May of 2003 and would have been used to hold clothes together. It falls under the Borre style of Norse art, as indicated by the particular depiction of the animals at the end of each point. Significantly, the estimated date for the creation of this object is between 1000–1100 CE, which would mean that this object falls outside the range of typical Borre style artifacts; however, due to the fact that many similar brooches have been found that date closer to the ninth-century, this could be a dating error. The brooch itself is made of a cast copper alloy. The front is decorated with raised beading while the back is smooth. Within the pin loop on the back is a corroded iron deposit, indicating that the pin used to fasten the brooch to clothes was most likely made of iron.[1]
This brooch type was most likely produced in Denmark, particularly around Lake Tissø and Hedeby, where eighteen brooches and two models were found that match this style.[2] Since these broaches were cast in models, they were most likely relatively cheap to make and often worn by commoners. This style was imported to England in the ninth-century during the Scandinavian rule of the Danelaw as evident from the fact that thirty such examples were found in eastern England. This brooch matches the cast beading style that was most popular in the Danelaw and is found all over the Scandinavian world.
The widespread nature of this type of brooch shows how popular they must have been with the Scandinavians. While different brooches that reflect Anglo-Scandinavian styling would emerge in Britain, this brooch illustrates how Scandinavians did not immediately adopt new styles while in the Danelaw This could be due to a constant flow of migrants coming from Scandinavia and bringing their own material with them or it could indicate that there was an attempt to retain some of their native stylistic traditions while in new lands.