Petersen Type A Viking Axe – Etched Urnes Beast

A narrower-bladed take on Petersen's earliest Type A axehead profile, its plain, functional silhouette given a striking finish with an etched Urnes-style beast - one of the last and most refined art styles of the Viking Age.

A narrower-bladed take on Petersen's earliest Type A axehead profile, its plain, functional silhouette given a striking finish with an etched Urnes-style beast - one of the last and most refined art styles of the Viking Age.

Petersen's Type A is among the earliest axe forms in his 1919 typology, in use until roughly 840 AD, defined by small symmetrical spurs and a broad, symmetrical blade. This example carries a noticeably narrower blade than the standard profile, a variation in proportion well attested across surviving Type A finds, where blade width could vary considerably from axe to axe even within the same classification. The etched design belongs to the Urnes style, the final and most refined phase of Viking Age art, flourishing from roughly 1050 into the 12th century and named for the carved wooden panels of the stave church at Urnes, Norway. Urnes work is instantly recognisable for its elegant, almost minimalist curves: a great four-legged beast, its body drawn out into a long sinuous ribbon, shown in a figure-eight interlace locked in combat with one or two more slender serpents.

Overall Length: 24 1/2″
Edge (Blade) Length: 4 1/8″
Weight: 2.525 lb
Edge: Unsharpened
Head Material: Cast iron
Haft: Ash hardwood

Deepeeka recreates this narrower Type A profile with the head etched in an Urnes-style beast motif, part of our Petersen typology axe range.

Use for:
- Viking living history and everyday-carry impressions
- Museum-style display on a wall mount or stand
- Norse art-themed home decor and collections
- Historical events and Viking markets
- Film and theatre productions set in the later Viking Age
- Collectors of Petersen typology axeheads and Viking Age art styles