Art in Late Prehistoric Scandinavia

Humans have always had the desire to make marks. Thousands of years before the first written words, people created pictures on stone, which is known as ‘rock art’, and metalwork, often referred to as ‘portable art’.

The intertwining of these two mediums, rock art and ornamented metalwork, in the Scandinavian Bronze Age (c. 1700–500 BCE) provide us with evidence of a complex worldview that involved elements of the environment, such as the sun and the sea.

In her talk, Dr Courtney Nimura will use as its starting point a single object in the Ashmolean’s collection, a beautiful bronze razor from Denmark. From here, we’ll explore a fascinating prehistoric world through its mark-making practice.

This event is part of our Making a Mark season of events.