Oseberg style
Encyclopedia
The Oseberg style is a Viking Era animal ornamentation
in Norse art
.
grave, a well-preserved Viking age ship discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg
in Vestfold
County, Norway
. That site also contained numerous richly decorated objects in wood.
The characteristic motif of the style is gripping beasts. The gripping beast motif is what clearly distinguishes the early Viking art from the styles that preceded it. The chief features of the gripping beast are the paws that grip the borders around it, neighbouring beasts or parts of its own body. The style is also characterized by traditions from the Vendel era
, and it is nowadays not generally accepted as an independent style.
The animal ornamentation of the Viking Age
is usually categorized into Oseberg style, Borre style
, Jelling style
, Mammen style
, Ringerike style
and Urnes style
.
Animal style
Animal style art is characterized by its emphasis on animal and bird motifs, and the term describes an approach to decoration which existed from China to Northern Europe in the early Iron Age, and the barbarian art of the Migration Period...
in Norse art
Norse art
Norse art is a blanket term for the artistic styles in Scandinavia during the Germanic Iron Age, the Viking Age , and sometimes even used when describing objects from the Nordic Bronze Age...
.
History
Oseberg style is named after the Oseberg shipOseberg ship
The Oseberg ship is a well-preserved Viking ship discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg in Vestfold county, Norway.-Burial mound:...
grave, a well-preserved Viking age ship discovered in a large burial mound at the Oseberg farm near Tønsberg
Tønsberg
is a city and municipality in Vestfold county, southern Norway, located around north-east of Sandefjord. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Tønsberg....
in Vestfold
Vestfold
is a county in Norway, bordering Buskerud and Telemark. The county administration is in Tønsberg.Vestfold is located west of the Oslofjord, as the name indicates. It includes many smaller, but well-known towns in Norway, such as Larvik, Sandefjord, Tønsberg and Horten. The river Numedalslågen runs...
County, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. That site also contained numerous richly decorated objects in wood.
The characteristic motif of the style is gripping beasts. The gripping beast motif is what clearly distinguishes the early Viking art from the styles that preceded it. The chief features of the gripping beast are the paws that grip the borders around it, neighbouring beasts or parts of its own body. The style is also characterized by traditions from the Vendel era
Vendel era
In Swedish prehistory, the Vendel era is the name given to a part of the Germanic Iron Age ....
, and it is nowadays not generally accepted as an independent style.
The animal ornamentation of the Viking Age
Viking Age
Viking Age is the term for the period in European history, especially Northern European and Scandinavian history, spanning the late 8th to 11th centuries. Scandinavian Vikings explored Europe by its oceans and rivers through trade and warfare. The Vikings also reached Iceland, Greenland,...
is usually categorized into Oseberg style, Borre style
Borre style
Borre style is a Viking Era animal ornamentation which was first named after artifacts from a boat grave in Borre mound cemetery near the village of Borre, in Horten municipality, Vestfold county, Norway.-History:...
, Jelling style
Jelling style
The Jelling style is a phase of Scandinavian animal art during the 10th century. The style is characterized by markedly stylized and often band-shaped bodies of animals...
, Mammen style
Mammen style
The Mammen style is a phase of Scandinavian animal art during the late 10th century and the early 11th century. The style is named after finds from a chamber tomb in Mammen on Jutland, Denmark. The finds included a silver engraved axe of which one side shows a markedly stylized animal with long...
, Ringerike style
Ringerike style
The Ringerike style is a Scandinavian animal style from the late 10th century and the 11th century, which evolved out of the earlier Mammen style. It has received its name from a group of runestones with animal and plant motifs in the Ringerike district north of Oslo. The most common motifs are...
and Urnes style
Urnes style
The Urnes style was the last phase of Scandinavian animal art during the second half of the 11th century and in the early 12th century. The preceding phases of Scandinavia's Viking Age animal ornamentation are usually categorized as Oseberg style, Borre style, Jelling style, Mammen style and...
.
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