Viking Bear Tooth Pendant

Viking bear tooth pendant from Finland.

Here you can buy a Viking Age bear tooth pendant that was made after an archaeological find from Finland.

The historical model for this Viking Age bronze bear's tooth pendant was found in a Finnish burial in Kalvola, Häme, and dates back to the Viking Age of the 9th to 11th century.

The amulet depicts a stylised bear's tooth and was at the end of a chain hanging from a chain distributor on one side of a pair of bowl brooches.

Link to the historical model…

Over 70 bear's tooth pendants of this type have been found in Finland, often made of bronze and called karhunhammasriipus in Finnish.

The bear's tooth pendant is not only an aesthetic piece of jewellery, but also has a deep connection to the religion and mythology of the Viking Age. Finnish bear tooth pendants are an expression of a pre-Christian world view and symbolise the interplay between nature and culture.

The Viking bear's tooth amulet measures 4.2 x 2.2 x 0.5 cm.

You can buy this Viking pendant in high-quality bronze or real silver-plated.
Alternatively, also available in 925 sterling silver (Please note the delivery time).
Alloy...

The amulet comes with a 1 metre long black leather strap.

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Animals played an important role in the Finnish communities of the Viking Age, not only from an economic and functional point of view, but also in terms of mythology and cosmological beliefs. In Finnish folk tradition, the bear's tooth symbolises the bear, which in turn symbolises the forest and the wilderness itself. With regard to the bear's tooth amulets of the Viking Age, there is an esoteric connection between the totem of the bear and the sex of the woman.

Whether the Viking Age bear's tooth pendants were intended exclusively as amulets for women is unclear, but archaeological finds from Finnish and Latvian burial sites suggest that they were. Bear teeth were probably associated with fertility and reproduction, as bronze bear tooth pendants were mostly found at the waist or near the abdomen and genitals.

The bear plays a prominent role in Finnish mythology, for example in the national epic "Kalevala". Among the ancient Finno-Ugric peoples, the bear was a feared and revered totem animal. Even today, it is the national animal of Finland for the Finns. It is considered to be the first god of the ancient Finns and was worshipped by them as a sacred animal due to its human appearance and enormous strength.

More information about the bear tooth amulets of the Viking Age...