Identity of viking woodcarver

[lundbunch]

Several years ago my sister purchased a woodcarved viking at a garage sale in Alexandria, MN. There was a note attached to the viking, presumably providing information related to the carver. I've tried unsuccessfully to identify the carver based on the information given. I would like to know if anyone is able to solve this mystery. Based on the quality of the carving, it seems that he was more than an average carver. The carving stands 31" tall and is 13" wide at its widest.

[Nebraska]

The style and finish reminds me of cigar store statues there are sites for collectors of these statues and I think that maybe a better place to look for answers.

[lundbunch]

Thank you, and I will pursue this.

[pallin]

It is similar to figures produced by instructors or students at woodcarving schools in Europe such as the ones in Brienz, Switzerland or Oberammergau, Germany. Many of those instructors have shops in the local community where they sell examples of their work. The ethnic character of the figure does not limit its source. The figure below is from a shop in Germany. It was unsigned until I asked the carver to initial it.

PhilsPhotos 034.jpg

[sappy]

Check out folklife.wisc.edu. Look under projects, then under featured stories. Scroll down to Nordic art in Minnesota. If nothing else, you should find a contact number to send your question to.

[lundbunch]

Check out folklife.wisc.edu. Look under projects, then under featured stories. Scroll down to Nordic art in Minnesota. If nothing else, you should find a contact number to send your question to.

Thank you for this information. I appreciate it very much.

[pallin]

The original demand for carved figures was religious, particularly during the gothic & rococo periods. The cathedral in Seville, Spain has 144 wooden figures just on the massive altarpiece. The market has expanded to all sorts of figures: farmers, hunters, itinerant merchants, athletes - even Vikings.

[DiLeon]

This needs to be addressed to a genealogist. Clearly, this note is about Russia and the names are Russia, but when people often flee ....the real question is from where? The history of wars and occupations such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, and others all have a history of being a part of Russia. Make a search super hard. Add that to the fact if you had a last name...many countries insisted you changed that last name to something more English. My family came from Lithuania to escape the Russian occupation....went to France and then the USA. The last name was changed four times with the insistence of you had to change your name. Finding a person with this kind of background would be next to impossible in my book of opinions.

As for the statue no surprise about the Vikings. For four centuries, Vikings held sway over parts of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, with the greatest expansion happening under Prince Oleg the Prophet. My question would be how old is this statue? The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. As this is where the statue was found, understanding people would collect such things? Is this a rather new statue or is it linked to the note on the bottom?

Who made the statue was the father or the son or were they just the owners of the purchased wood statue??? if you got that far and was the son born in Paris...unknown. Did he move to MN. ...thousands of questions. Clearly, no one signed the carving. Any way this is a major mystery work. Unless you like playing detective games this one would be a hard case to crack.

One big point is...Some of the most common depictions of Vikings show large warriors wearing helmets affixed with horns. But new research finds that the famed helmets discovered in Viksø, Denmark, 80 years ago actually date to about 900 B.C.E., nearly 2,000 years before the Vikings. Which goes around to what Phil is talking about. More questions....

[pallin]

The bottom has some clues as to age - There are saw marks, both linear and circular. The object in the left hand is missing a piece - possibly a spear point. The lack of checking or damage tells me it's not really old.

[DiLeon]

The bottom has some clues as to age - There are saw marks, both linear and circular. The object in the left hand is missing a piece - possibly a spear point. The lack of checking or damage tells me it's not really old.

I miss that point.....and have to agree with you.

[pallin]

It is also clear to me that much of the finish carving was done with traditional hand tools (gouges). Study the grooves in the shingle-like pieces of the lower garment. Most of the grooves are straight, up-&-down. But on photo #6 you see that the gouge had to be angled around the left arm & shield. (Note: Shield is behind right arm.)

Yes, that's a small shield hiding behind his right arm and his cloak in the back. The survival of details tells me not very old. Yes, it's 3 feet high, but you'd likely bump into it if parked in a hallway. Also, the "wash" on the face & upper body is too good.

That reminds of the lyrics of a song from "My Fair Lady:"
"Her English is too good" he said, "which clearly indicates than she is foreign. Whereas some are trained in their native language, English people aren't!"

[woodburner807]

The viking horns really didn't appear in the Viking era, however the stereotype was generated by an artist in the 1800's (or early 1900's?). Might check when that happened to get the earliest date. Nice carving.