Baltic bird pendant from the Middel Ages.
Here you can buy am authentic Baltic bird pendant, made true-to-detail according to a medieval find from Livonia.
This medieval bird pendant is a detailed replica of a historical model from the
Turaida Museum, dating from the late 11th to early 12th century.
The original was found on the
castle hill of Sateseles, a site of the ancient Livonians located in the Gauja National Park near Sigulda in Latvia.
Link to the historical model..
Bird pendants were very common between the
9th and 12th centuries, particularly in the Baltic region, but also in other areas of the Nordic cultural sphere, dating from the Viking Age to the High Middle Ages.
In the Baltic region, birds were regarded as mediators between the worlds, as
soul carriers or protective beings who accompanied the transition between life and death.
Archaeologically, these pendants are therefore associated with the
pre-Christian beliefs of the Baltic and Finno-Ugric populations.
In grave contexts, these bird pendants indicate pagan beliefs about the afterlife and
protective functions, as were common in the Baltic regions from the Viking Age to the High Middle Ages, while wearing them in everyday life probably had magical-religious significance.
The Baltic bird pendant
measures 4.4 x 2.3 x 0.6 cm.
You can buy this raven pendant in high-quality
bronze or real
silver-plated.
Alternatively, also available in 925
sterling silver (Please note the delivery time).
Alloy...
A 1 m long black
leather cord is included with the bird pendant.
Three-dimensional bird pendants with a compact body, beak, broad tail and hanging loop were mainly found in the
eastern Baltic region between the 9th and 12th centuries, particularly in Livonia, north-western Estonia and northern Latvia.
These fully sculpted bird pendants, along with those in bas-relief, have been found in burial grounds from cremation and inhumation burials, particularly among Finno-Ugric groups, but they also occur as far as Finnish Karelia. In
Lithuania and southern Latvia, three-dimensional bird pendants are much rarer, with flat, disc-like or highly stylised bird motifs dominating.
The Baltic bird pendants from
Livonia are now among the most important small finds in early and high medieval archaeology in the Baltic region. They were mostly made of bronze, silver or, more rarely, gold.
The widespread distribution of these medieval bird pendants also indicates lively
cultural contacts between the Baltic, Scandinavian and Slavic regions. Thus, they are not only religious symbols, but also important evidence of trade, cultural exchange and identity in the medieval Baltic region.
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