Equal-armed Viking brooch from Birka

Equal-armed Viking brooch with from Birka.

The original of this equal-armed brooch dates to the end of the 9th or early 10th century and comes from the Viking town of Birka.

Equal-armed brooches were worn in the Viking Age as an alternative to disc brooches. The equal-armed brooch was used by Viking women to close a light cloak or as an additional brooch to hold a chain in the middle of the chest.

Link to the original equal-armed brooch...

The equal-arm Viking brooch replica from Birka is carefully polished, so that the richly detailed workmanship is shown off to its best advantage. It has a sturdy pin on the back for fastening.

Dimensions of the equal-arm Viking brooch: 6.5 x 2.1 cm.
Available in high-quality bronze or in genuine silver-plated.

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From 500 to 1000 AD, brooches were an indispensable part of Viking costume in Northern Europe, and were found in large numbers in the women's graves of the Viking Age. Often, a chain was worn between two larger brooches at shoulder height.

These chains were then attached to the brooch worn centrally on the chest. As an alternative to the cloverleaf brooch or disc brooch, Viking women also wore the so-called equal-armed brooch or equal-armed brooch, in which two uniformly designed "wings" extended from a central middle section.

The decoration of the equal-arm brooch was often executed in notched technique, but there were also equal-arm brooches in a figural style, with naturalistically shaped figures of animals on the brooch.