"Just three centimeters (1.2 inches) high, the piece was discovered in 1796 in a 10th century horse burial mound in Viken near the Oslofjord, southern Norway. It is carved from a walrus tusk and depicts the head and chest of a man with a thick moustache, long, braided beard and sideburns. His hair is parted in the middle and has a wave of the side that exposes his ear."
"Hitherto, we haven't had any detailed knowledge about Viking hairstyles, but here, we get all the details even the little curl above the ear is marked. This is the first time we see a figure of a male Viking with his hair visible from all angles. It's unique, says Peter Pentz. The arms are damaged, but the beard identifies it a type of carving known as beard-stroking or beard-pulling figurines."
"The new study proposes that they are kings in the Norse strategy board game hnefatafl. The pulling of the beards symbolizes masculinity, fertility and kingship. This is one of the first objects catalogued by the National Museum, number 589 out of what are now more than two million objects in the museum's collection. Held in storage for 200 years, figure is currently on display as part of The Wolf's Warning, the museum's exhibition on Viking seeresses."
A small, three-centimeter Viking-era gaming piece carved from walrus tusk exhibits an unusually detailed men's coiffure that matches a 10th-century fashion. The figure shows a thick moustache, long braided beard, sideburns, a middle part, a waved side exposing the ear, and a cropped back; even a small curl above the ear is marked. The carving belongs to a beard-stroking or beard-pulling figurine type. A new study proposes that such figures represent kings in the Norse board game hnefatafl, with beard-pulling symbolizing masculinity, fertility and kingship. The piece was found in a 10th-century horse burial in Viken and is museum catalog number 589, now displayed in The Wolf's Warning exhibition.
Read at www.thehistoryblog.com
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