The National Museum of Denmark unveiled a three-centimeter walrus ivory figurine that it said was the first portrait of a man from the Viking Age. The announcement formed part of research on human representations and symbolism in Viking art that was published in the journal Medieval Archaeology.
The figurine was found in 1796 in a burial mound by the Oslofjord in Norway and was registered in the museum’s collections in 1797, where it remained for more than two centuries without an in-depth study, France 24 reported.
Carved from walrus ivory, one of the costliest materials of the period, the piece served as the king from the Viking board game hnefatafl. In tafl games, a king and defenders tried to escape while attackers attempted to capture the king.
“When I stumbled upon him in one of our storerooms a couple of years ago, I was really surprised, for there he was looking directly up at me, and such a Viking I have never seen before in the many years I have been at the museum,” said Peter Pentz, curator at the National Museum of Denmark. “This little fellow is really different; he has a central parting up to the top of the head, then the hair cut at the nape,” said Pentz.
“This is the first attempt at a portrait from the Viking Age,” said Pentz, contrasting it with images on coins that lacked individual characteristics, according to Asharq Al-Awsat. “The most surprising thing for me is his expression... I find that he looks rather like he has told a joke; he is smiling,” said Pentz.
The burial context indicated high status: the figurine was recovered from an equestrian grave with weapons and a horse, dated to the second half of the 10th century CE during the reign of Harald Bluetooth. Museum specialists said the figure likely depicted someone at the top of the social hierarchy; “He could be King Harald Bluetooth,” said Pentz.
The museum saw the find as a correction to stereotypes of Vikings as bloodthirsty barbarians in horned helmets. It indicates elite men in the 7th to 11th centuries CE favored carefully maintained hairstyles and facial hair, including center partings, upturned mustaches, and braided beards. “I felt like I was being looked at by a Viking,” said Pentz.
Written with the help of a news-analysis system.