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This design is… known from the Sutton Hoo and Valsgärde helmets.
What is it?
This rectangular copper-alloy object is 1-1.5mm thick and measures 4.5cm by 3.7cm. It dates to c.AD 550-625 and is a type of stamping die known as a patrice, which was used to impress images on to sheets of metal to produce decorated foils. The edge of the patrice is broken and the design is worn, complicating interpretation of the full image. However, the central motif clearly depicts a horseman holding a spear and shield, with another man lying beneath the horse. This design is identifiable as the ‘rider and fallen warrior motif’, which is known from the contemporaneous Sutton Hoo and Valsgärde helmets, and has its origins in a similar Roman motif.
Where was it found, and when?
The patrice was found in 2021 by a metal-detectorist surveying a field on the small island of Tåsinge, in the south-east of the Funen archipelago, Denmark. The detectorist has explored this area many times over the last decade, and has also discovered pieces of metal scrap, including a foil, as well as other archaeological finds such as brooches. The patrice was handed in to Svendborg Museum, before being sent on to the National Museum of Denmark where it was studied in detail by curator Peter Pentz. This analysis revealed clues to the object’s true significance, including its possible link with Sutton Hoo.
Why does it matter?
This die is particularly significant because of its potential connections to the Sutton Hoo helmet. The ornately decorated helmet, discovered in the famous 7th-century ship burial in England, has long been believed to have originated in Uppland, in Sweden, where other helmets with similar motifs have been found. However, the new find from Tåsinge bears a closer similarity to the mounted warrior motif on the Sutton Hoo helmet than any previous discoveries. Many elements of the patrice’s design, including the warrior’s hair and the cuff at his wrist, the harness fittings of the horse, the sword protruding below the warrior’s shield, and the circles on the feet of the man on the floor, are strikingly close to the image on the Sutton Hoo helmet. Even stronger similarities were identified with another part of the Sutton Hoo helmet, which has only been partially reconstructed but shows another mounted warrior that is identical in many ways to the Tåsinge stamp.
These parallels point to some kind of link between Tåsinge and the high status individual buried at Sutton Hoo. It is possible that the helmet could have been made in this region, perhaps even by the same group of craftspeople. Further research is needed. Already, though, this discovery is rewriting our understanding of Denmark’s place in the power networks of northern Europe in this period.
FIND OUT MORE: The object is currently on display in the exhibition The Hunt for Denmark’s Past at the National Museum of Denmark.
Text: Amy Brunskill / Photo: National Museum of Denmark
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