Product description
The design for this special torc is inspired by the famous dragon head of the Viking ship grave found at Oseberg. The dragon head was made of wood and decorated as the bow of the Oseberg ship (ca. 800 A.D.). The bow can still be admired today in the magnificent Viking Ship Museum in Oslo, where the original ships are also on display. These are the best-preserved Viking ships in the world and they still have clear decorative carvings in the Oseberg animal style. The dragon head was thus a bow, but it is conceivable that multiple objects were decorated with such dragon figures.
This torc has a beautiful twisted design and the ends consist of two dragon heads. The torc is light in weight (ca. 100 grams) and easy to wear, it does not press on the neck. It is suitable for both men and women with a neck circumference up to 55 cm. To wear the torc, you can bend the two ends apart from each other and hang the torc around your neck. When the torc is hanging, you can bend the ends back towards each other.
This is a beautiful piece of jewelry for re-enactors, but also a nice way to elevate a modern outfit to a higher level. It is made of high quality bronze and gleams in the light. The silver-plated version has a layer of silver over the bronze, so the torc appears to be solid silver.
The Torque: from Indo-European oath ring to jewelry. The torque is known as a typical Celtic piece of jewelry, but was also worn by other Indo-European peoples such as Germanic tribes, Scythians, Thracians, and even Romans. This tradition began around 1200 B.C. and lasted well into Roman times. Torques probably originated in the Indo-European steppe culture. They may have served as oath rings, connected to oath-bound reciprocity. Wearing a torque symbolized loyalty to a deity, tribe, or leader. During the migration period, the 'Celtic' torques fell out of use. Germanic peoples chose ring forms such as bracelets and rings. In the Viking Age, the torc made a comeback in the form of silver and bronze neck rings.
Dragons were the mythical variant of the serpent and were incorporated into the earliest myths of modern man. With the spread of humanity, dragon mythology also migrated across the world. Among many Indo-European peoples, dragons play a prominent role in their mythologies. In Germanic and later Viking mythology, dragons are seen as all-destroying monsters. At the same time, they symbolize the evil beast that must be defeated by a hero. These two archetypes – the destroyer and the antagonist of the hero – reinforce each other.
