Viking home decor is where most of the tat lives, so it is worth being specific about what is here. Carved wooden cups, drinking horns on turned stands, oak display racks and a storage chest. Objects that do something, made in wood, horn and steel, rather than printed panels and resin figurines.
What is on this tag
Birch kuksa cups carved to hold about 10 fluid ounces with a vegvisir burned into the handle, storage chests with domed lids in dark stained solid wood with brass straps and steel fittings, oak sword display stands in a three tier tabletop rack with knotwork engraved crossbars, and drinking horns in dark natural ox horn on turned walnut cradles. A few swords and engraved pieces sit on the tag as well, since people buy the rack and the thing that goes on it together.
The kuksa, which is the interesting one
A kuksa is a Nordic carved cup, traditionally from a birch burl, made as a single piece with no joints and no glue. It is Sami rather than Norse in its best known form, and it is genuinely used rather than displayed. Wash it with water and no detergent, let it dry slowly away from heat, and it will darken and season over years. Never put one in a dishwasher, which will crack it in a single cycle.
Horns and racks
A drinking horn needs a sealed interior and a stand, because it does not stand up on its own, which is the practical detail nobody mentions in the sagas. The drinking horn article covers fittings, sealing and use. The horns are in the drinking horns, the racks in the sword stands and displays, and everything else in the Viking home decor.
Wood and horn in a house
Both move with humidity. A carved cup left next to a radiator all winter will check, and a horn left in direct sun will fade and dry. Neither needs anything elaborate, just a sensible spot and an occasional wipe of oil on the wood. A storage chest will settle slightly in its first year, which is the wood doing exactly what wood does.
What arrives
Wood is oil finished rather than lacquered, so it can be refed rather than stripped. Horn is sealed inside. Steel fittings are riveted where the traditional construction calls for it. Everything is opened and checked in Chicago before it ships, since a long journey is hard on wood and on horn.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
