Posted on 06/15/2013 10:14:02 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
A small figurine depicting a slim, naked woman was recently found in a Danish field. Strangely, this is the fifth in a series of tiny golden human figurines found recently in the area...
The small, heavily arched figurine is only 4.2 cm tall and weighs 3 grams, has many details and bears the mark of quality craftsmanship.
Stretched arms and sagging breasts
The woman has a long and slender body, which may have been made out of a thin bar of gold. The head is elongated with a protruding jaw and incised hair. The breasts are sagging and below both shoulders are notches, indicating that her arms have been tied around her body.
The arms are stretched and the thumbs are pressed against one another, while the other fingers are facing downwards. On the stomach is a more clearly incised belt decorated with a zig-zag pattern, and the private parts are clearly visible between the short and thin legs...
Remarkably, the back side has ten prominent ‘teeth’, something that has never been seen before.
Naked female figurines are a rarity in Nordic Iron Age art, where male figurines dominated...
The golden woman is the fifth in a series of small, golden human figurines from the Smørenge field on Bornholm. The first four are all believed to depict men, while there is no doubt about the gender of the last addition to the series.
The first figurine was found in the spring of 2009, together with a number of other finds, including several gold-foil figures, while the next three appeared in spring 2012.
Common to all the five figurines is that the heads are plastically formed, but otherwise there is a great deal of variation.
(Excerpt) Read more at sciencenordic.com ...
Fascinating stuff! Thanks, eh?
At the risk of being totally without imagination-I think that is a woman’s hair ornament, like maybe a primitive ponytail clip. The “teeth” on the back would hold it in place, and the grooves on the shoulders and legs are there to wrap a ribbon or piece of rawhide around to hold the clip in place in the hair.
If it is a hair ornament, not much has changed since the 6th century AD-I bought a cloisonné one in the shape of a lizard some years ago at a craft market in southern New Mexico-works just like that Danish one, except it has an elastic band that goes around the grooves to hold it in place in the hair...
They are all Guilty. Series. This is Hugh!
Heh. Yeah.
And as usual, the “quality” craftsmanship looks like something made by a deranged 12 year old.
LOL
These are small pieces, which follows from the era (gold supply was small in that area; these may have been made from a coin or two each), and appear to have been made via some kind of half-assed version of the lost wax process, then worked.
I say melt them down and try again for some craftsmanship. A kindergardener could show more talent than whoever made those....
But would you hit it?
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