Viking Mask Pendant from Moesgaard

Thor's mask? Loki's mask? A lion's mask? – these are all interpretations I have heard for this viking mask pendant, but the truth is, we don't know. Moesgaard museum in Denmark now holds the runestone where this design originates. The stone itself was discovered beneath an old mill and probably once stood by the roadside in Viking Age Aarhus. The runes on the stone commemorate a warrior who fell in battle, giving no further clue to the meaning of the mask.

I have taken the original design and remade it as a pendant. There is a hanging loop on the back. Perhaps the fearsome the mask was intended to frighten evil spirits, as Moesgaard museum suggest, which would make this pendant an amulet of protection for the traveller.

 Height 44mm

Weight of Sterling Silver 10g (Weight may vary from piece to piece)