Tortoise Brooches, BJ 539, Birka

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A pair of carefully handmade and detailed bronze reproductions of the 9th Century tortoise brooches found in grave Bj539 in Birka, Sweden. Tortoise brooches (dress brooches) are worn in pairs on the front of a Viking woman's dress. It was customary to suspend a string of beads and charms between them.

Grimfrost made the brooches for the Birka Museum's 2020 Exhibition where a number of graves were fully recreated.

The brooches are sold in pairs.

Norse women wore pairs of oval brooches to fasten the shoulder straps of a tunic worn over other garments. Beads of amber, wood or glass may have hung between these brooches or a chain with useful items such as a comb or keys. Nearly all finds of dress brooches are crafted from bronze.