Axe
Mammen Axe reproduction
- Object: Axe
- Artist: -
- Circa: -
- Dimensions: -
- Culture Area: Europe
- Cultural Group: Viking
- Cultural Context: Artist Reproduction of an axe head found in a chamber-grave at Mammen, Denmark. The occupant's burial is dated between 970-971 AD. The original is made of iron with silver inlay, and decorated in the "Mammen Style," a style in which is named after this archeological find. The axe is interpreted as both Christian and Pagan, an intersection of beliefs in the region during the Viking Age. One side shows a tree motif, which may symbolize the world tree Yggdrasil. The other side is an animal figure, believed to be either a rooster or phoenix. In Norse mythology, Gullinkambi, the rooster, sits atop the tree Yggdrasil and will crow to signal the beginning of Ragnarok. In Christianity, the phoenix symbolized re-birth.
- Donor: IELM Funds/ Catherine Prince
- Catalog #: 117.016