by Jo Lawson-Tancred
The long-lost treasure had been forgotten in storage for over two centuries.
We all have an image in our heads of what a Viking looks like: a big, strong figure with long blonde hair in braids and a thick beard. But it turns out we may have got it all wrong. The surprise discovery of the first-ever recovered portrait of a Viking has shed new light on these mighty Danish ancestors.
The tiny 10th-century figurine was recently discovered by curator Peter Pentz in the archives of Denmark’s National Museum. The carving of a man’s head and torso, which measures just 1.2 inches in length, has all the hallmarks of a portrait recording the unique features of a specific person. The man’s hair has been neatly combed with a middle parting and he sports a braided beard and a carefully curled, imperial mustache.
“If you think of Vikings as savage or wild, this figure is proving the opposite, actually,” Pentz told AFP. “He is very well-groomed.”
“This is the first thing that comes close to a portrait from the Viking period that I’ve seen,” he added. As well as revealing the man’s styling, the figurine has a lively and engaging expression. “He looks devilish, some people say. But I think he looks more like he’s just been telling a joke.”
It is believed that the piece, which was carved out of walrus tusk, was intended to represent a king and originally made for the ancient board game Hnefatafl. It was recovered from an equestrian burial, most likely of a Viking warrior, in a fjord in Oslo, Norway in 1796. But it had long been forgotten, spending more than two centuries collecting dust in storage.
Whoever the figurine was modeled on, it appears he was a member of the Viking elite. “A hair design like this, which is very neat—you can see a little curl or tuft of hair running over the ears—suggests this guy is at the top,” said Pentz.
The curator has even suggested that the figurine might be based on a real monarch, King Harald Bluetooth, who reigned in the late 10th century. The fearsome leader is known for unifying Denmark, introducing the country to Christianity, and briefly conquering Norway. His name may have referred to his rotten tooth, and consequently inspired the name of Bluetooth wireless technology, but we have no definite record of how he looked.
Before the figurine was found, there weren’t many surviving images of real Vikings for historians to refer to. Viking artists preferred depicting animal motifs and most surviving images of humans are generic faces on coins, which has long limited our understanding of Viking dress and personal styling.
Describing his once-in-a-lifetime discovery of the figurine, Pentz said it was as though a face was looking up at him. “It is exceptional that we have such a vivid depiction of a Viking, even a three-dimensional one,” he said, noting in particular how the hairstyle is visible from all angles so that we can see that it is chopped at the back.
This article was originally published on Artnet on August 28, 2025.
