Gotland Bear Head Brooches - Pair

This is a pair of brooches based on an example from Gotland, which is now in the British Museum and is likely to date from the 11th century. They are designed to be used as a pair, for fastening a hangaroc, the outer dress worn by Norse women.

The bear head style of paired brooches used for this purpose are particular to the Island of Gotland, in the Baltic, where the design is clearly derived from fibula, or bow brooches of the period before the Viking Age. The presence of knotwork in the Urnes style indicates that this particular brooch dates from the 11th century, at which time the oval brooches, used more widely across Scandinavia, Britain, and Ireland for the same purpose, had fallen out of use, presumably along with the dress they were intended to fasten.

The people of Gotland, in the Viking Age, had benefitted from being at a crossroads of trade in the Baltic sea, and showed an incredible amount of wealth, as seen from the sheer quantity of silver hoards from the island. This seems to have meant that they did things a little differently there, even down to using different styles of brooch from those in mainland Scandinavia. However, these people were traders themselves, and no doubt travelled far and wide from their home, so these brooches could easily have been present in towns and  markets outside Gotland.

The original brooch that this pair is based on was found on Gotland, but was part of the private collection of James Curle, FSA, in Britain. It was acquired by the British Museum in 1921.

These brooches are cast in pewter, with integral lugs for the pin back. They are suitable for LARP or cosplay in a viking style, for ritual clothing or banquet dress. They could also be used for historical interpretation or theatre where the clothing style is more important than the materials used. Some re-enactment groups may allow pewter brooches of this style, please check with your AO before ordering.

This is the first release of this brooch style, and while we are thinking about casting them in copper alloys, we know from experience that those will likely cost around 3.5 times the price of the pewter versions. If you would like to buy these in bronze, bearing the above in mind, please use the wish list function on the listing to let us know, or send us an email.

These brooches are cast by us in lead free pewter in Scotland. They weigh approx 77g each - 154g per pair, and measure 44mm wide, 56mm long, and 24mm deep at the highest point.