Display of pins, rings, and keys from the RAM exhibit
Today’s post from the Royal Alberta Museum Viking display from Denmark is from a display with a number of trefoil brooches, penannular brooches, pins, rings, and keys. I’m not entirely sure what the common element is between all of these – other than things made of (mostly) bronze, worn as personal adornment.
Gripping beast brooch
Bronze trefoil brooch ornamented with gripping beasts 850-950 CE
I’ll show close ups of some of the items in order they were displayed top to bottom, left to right.
- Bronze trefoil brooch ornamented with gripping beasts 850-950 CE
Nørholm brooch
Bronze trefoil brooch from Nørholm, Ålborg, Jutland, Denmark 725-825 CE
2. Bronze trefoil brooch from Nørholm, Ålborg, Jutland, Denmark 725-825 CE
Openwork key
Bronze key with circular openwork handle with animal decoration from Ribe, Denmark 800-950 CE
3. Bronze key with circular openwork handle with animal decoration from Ribe, Denmark 800-950 CE
Gyngstrup key
Bronze key from Gyngstrup, Odense, Fyn, Denmark
4. Bronze key from Gyngstrup, Odense, Fyn, Denmark
Tisvilde key
Bronze key with openwork circular handle containing a single animal from Tisvilde, Zealand, Denmark
5. Bronze key with openwork circular handle containing a single animal from Tisvilde, Zealand, Denmark
I didn’t get close-up photos of the remaining items
Display of pins, rings, and keys from the RAM exhibit
Three bronze penannular brooch with upturned terminals from:
- Ludvigshave, Lolland, Denmark
- Hvidovre, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Halljær Enge, Jutland, Denmark
Two bronze penannular rings with plain terminal pins from Skanderborg, Jutland, Denmark
Three bronze ringed pins from:
- Bregninge, Lolland, Denmark
- Lillevang, Bornholm, Denmark
- Lejre, Denmark
Silver finger ring from Præstø, Zealand, Denmark
Gilded bronze finger ring made of rods twisted together from Hammelev, Jutland, Denmark
Silver button from Stenmogle, Zealand, Denmark
A comment on keys
There was a nearby display with comments about keys, and women as housewives in the role of property managers. It said:
” Many keys have been found in women’s graves. Upon marriage with a well-off husband the wife became the key-bearer. The key symbolized the status of women as managers of estates and farms. The keys would hang in a highly visible location outside her clothes, from a metal chain, a textile band, or a string from one of her brooches.”
I think it’s noteworthy that the keys are very decorative, worn as jewellery in life, and buried with the dead. While I’m sure functional keys were also worn, I suspect the ones buried with the dead were intended primarily as decoration – unless the chest /etc that the key opened was also buried with the dead? Or.. perhaps duplicate keys were made?
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