Viking Leather and Jewelry - Norse Arts and Craft

Category: File - :Urnesportalen.jpg|thumb|200px|The eponymous carving on the Urnes stave church is an example of the Urnes style.

Norse art is a blanket term for the artistic style in Scandinavia during the Germanic Iron Age, the Viking Age, and sometimes even used when describing objects from the Nordic Bronze Age. Art from the Viking Age is also known as "Viking Art". This art has many elements in common with Celtic Art, Romanesque art and East-European (Eurasian) ArtMaurizio Tani, Le origini mediterranee ed eurasiatiche dell'arte vichinga. Casi esemplari dall'Islanda, in Studi Nordici (Roma), XIII, 2006, pp. 81-95.

There are six main styles; Oseberg, Borre, Jellinge, Mammen, Ringerike and Urnes style. The Jelling style is named after Danish royal grave in Jutland and features prominent animal designs. The Ringerike style is characterized by elaborate foliage ornament and interlacing and is named after the district in Norway where it is represented in local sandstone. Detailed designs in carved doors of Urnes stave church in the Sognefjord, Norway gave its name to the final 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 article ringerikestil in Nationalencyklopedin (1994). The most common motifs are lions, birds, band-shaped animals and spirals. Some elements appear for the first time in Scandinavian art, such as different types of crosses, palmettes and pretzel-shaped nooses that tie together two motifs. Most of the motifs have counterparts in Anglo-Saxon art and Ottonian art.

The animal ornamentation of the Viking Age is usually categorized into Oseberg style, Borre style, Jelling style, Mammen style, Ringerike style and Urnes style.The article djurornamentik in Nationalencyklopedin (1991).

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 article urnesstil in Nationalencyklopedin (1996). The preceding phases of Scandinavia's Viking Age animal ornamentation are usually categorized as Oseberg style, Borre style, Jelling style, Mammen style and Ringerike style.The article djurornamentik in Nationalencyklopedin (1991).

The Urnes style is named after the northern gate of the Urnes stave church in Norway, but most objects in the style are runestones in Uppland, Sweden, which is why some scholars prefer to call it the Runestone style.

The style is characterized by slim and stylized animals that are interwoven into tight patterns. The animals heads are seen in profile, they have slender almond-shaped eyes and there are upwardly curled appendages on the noses and the necks.