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Viking Age Art Styles

Borre, Jellinge, Mammen, Ringerike and Urnes styles, plus the lion-derived backward looking "great beast", the intertwining of serpentine beasts and the fascination with three fold rotational symmetry (triskele).

For discussions on the possible meaning of some of the imagery exhibited by artefacts shown here see:

http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-viking-mammen-style-on-rare-british.html

http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-viking-sword-chape-and-havamal-story.html , which presents an alternative view to that of Hedenstierna-Jonson (2002).

http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2015/05/a-viking-bound-gripping-beast-pendant.html

http://lifeartearth.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-speculative-connection-between.html

In addition to the Scandinavian designs, there are Scandinavian-derived styles ( for example in oval and penannular brooches) seen amongst the Baltic and Finnic neighbors to the east and northeast as well as the distinctive Finnic animal styles of the Staraya Ladoga region.
Viking Age art styles in England Beast and raven, Viking sword chape (Type 1b2), 74 mm, attributed to the Scandinavian Borre style (Janowski & Fudzinska 2006). Sword chape, copper alloy, 69 mm, Paulsen type B, 10th C. A Borre-style anthropomorphic figure intertwined with a tree. Ukraine. Sword chape, copper alloy, 69 mm, Paulsen type B, 10th C. A Borre-style anthropomorphic figure intertwined with a tree. Ukraine.
Domed brooch with three Borre-style bear heads, 25 mm, copper alloy with remnants of gilding, 10th century. Borre-style strap-end with three round-eared bear heads, 43 mm long. Bound and gripping beast, silver or billon, 29 mm, 10th C, Kievan Rus' Illustration in Toropov 2014, pg 232
Gripping beast pendant, Borre styles, 34 mm, 10th century, Gnezdov, copper alloy with gilding. Borre style gripping beast pendant design explained Jellinge-style brooch, 29 mm, showing two barred S-shaped ribbon animals with gripping paws. Found Shingham, Norfolk. Jellinge-style brooch, 29 mm, showing two barred S-shaped ribbon animals with gripping paws. Found Shingham, Norfolk.
Jellinge-style brooch, 29 mm, showing two barred S-shaped ribbon animals with gripping paws. Found Shingham, Norfolk. Jellinge-style backward-looking animal billon pendant with barred body, 36 m, copper silver (billon) alloy. Gnyozdovo-Smolensk. Illustration in Toropov 2014, pg 232 Mammen style brooch, 10th century, 26x24mm, Cambridgeshire. One of 5 known, two being in the Ashmolean.
Sketch of the Mammen-style interlace bird on the square brooch from Cambridgeshire. Two birds (ravens?) on 79 mm 10th Century cast bronze elliptical tortoise brooch, reportedly Alnwick, Northumbria, UK. Ringerike style dragon, bridle cheekpiece, 6 cm, 10th-11th century, Essex Mount of an interlace beast in the eleventh century English Urnes style, Yorkshire.
Drawing of mount of an interlace beast in the eleventh century English Urnes style, Yorkshire. Mount of an interlace beast in the eleventh century English Urnes style, 4 cm. Newark and Sherwood, Nottinghamshire. Beautiful example of the Urnes style (11th century). Two ribbon animals on 56 mm stirrup mount. AngloScandinavian, England. The Urnes dragons design
Viking trefoil brooch, 43 mm, Yorkshire, 10th century. Detail of the triskele in the Baltic Borre-style sword hape illustrated above. Decorated copper alloy handle 67mm, with the Rurikid interlace design and gilding on stamped circular punch decoration. Ukraine Is the figure in this elongate pendant (5 cm) Odin or is it Christ? A variety of ring chain extends below bearded figure.