Danish National Museum

After a morning at Amalienborg Palace, just mum and I, we have returned to the apartment to pick up the boys. We decide to head to the Danish National Museum for the afternoon – it’s close (as it’s raining), has a children’s section and we hope that it will hold their attention for at least a couple of hours.

When we arrive we are disappointed to learn that the children’s exhibitions are currently closed. This is both annoying and frustrating to find out once we are here, there was nothing on the internet to suggest this being the case. Still, with the weather, we have limited other options and so decide to press on regardless.

We split up – mum takes Harley and I go off with Jasper. Jasper and I begin in the Bronze Age (approximately 3000 – 600BC), the period where weapons, tools and ornaments were all made of bronze. At this time, we know of gold, but there are no silver objects known from this time. Frequently, bronze ornamentation takes the shape of wavy bands, circular shapes, spirals and double spirals.

During the period, amber, a hardened resin secreted by some types of trees was also used to make ornaments, particularly animal carvings. These small, intricate creations (for the time), could be strung to wear as amulets or pendants. Most often the creatures carved were those most prized in the area. In Northern Europe we find bears, swans and elk, those hunted for food, fur and feathers in the region. Hunters often had a special kinship and respect for the animals they hunted as many lives depended on the meat and by-products that the animals gave.

We look at these fantastic little amber figures as well as a few daggers and knives, some jewelry and ornaments and quickly move through to the Iron Age.

During the Iron Age, which spans from about 600BC to around 1000AD, iron replaces bronze for weaponry, particularly swords, knives and cutting tools. Bronze remains in use for ornaments and special utensils. Silver and glass vessels are also introduced during this period and rings of silver and gold become visible. I recall some fantastic silver and glass artifacts from the National Museum of Beirut (Jewelry and Other Artifacts).

Interestingly, the transition from age to age varies significantly, depending on the region. It can be referred to as a ‘diffusion’ of metallurgy, where the epicenter of the discovery of new metals and their uses starts in one place and the knowledge takes time to work its way through from Central Europe and the Near East to the further reaches of Northern Europe and the East Asian and Indian subcontinents.

This mosaic catches my eye. I like mosaics and this one reminds me of some other fantastic mosaics I have seen recently on display also at the National Museum of Beirut.

Later on we discover some fantastic astronomical and astrological works. The model of Atlas supporting a celestial globe were part of a large, pyramid shaped clock from 1630. The globe is signed by Raphael Custodis, while Atlas is guessed to be 16th Century Italian. It was found at Gottorp Castle (also known as Gottorf Castle) in the Ducal of Kunstkammer (today this is in far north Germany, near the border with Denmark).

This clock with armillary sphere (above) was made by Josias Habrecht in Strasbourg in 1572. The four sides of the case shows the hours, quarter hours, the latitude and days of the week. The model of the universe still depicts the earth as the centre with the sun and moon circling about it. This is despite Copernicus’ theory of heliocentrism having been put forth earlier in the century. Nicolaus Copernicus (1473 – 1543) is best known for this heliocentric theory as well as the quantity theory on money (derived in 1517) and Gresham’s law, a key concept in economics (in 1519).

I could stay here all day but Jasper is getting bored and tired. We move through the rest of the museum and come across this astonishing figure of a man and horse in full armor from 1545. The date is inscribed on the breastplate and it is known that the masterpiece was crafted in Innsbruck in Austria. The horse’s amor is designed to protect the knight – if the horse was injured or killed the knight was in grave danger.

The enthusiasm is wearing thin. We get to something a bit more modern and interesting (for the young ones at least), just as the announcement that the museum is soon closing comes across the PA system.

The Rollers are musical toilet rolls that have been created by the children of Denmark. Recycled materials such as pipe cleaners, buttons, glitter, small gadgets and a load of imagination have gone into creating over 30,000 of these small singing and dancing Roller Stars. They have appeared on the children’s TV channel, Ramasjang, in a mini Eurovision type contest.

Inspired by the Ramasjang Rollers, children visiting the museum have created their own rollers to reflect historical figures – knights, queens, Egtved Girl, Harold Bluetooth and Tycho Brahe.

The Egtved Girl was a Nordic Bronze Age girl whose well preserved remains were found outside Egtved, Denmark in 1921. Her remains have been dated to c. 1390–1370 and it is know that she was aged 16–18 at death, she was of slim build, around 160 cm tall and had short, blond hair and well-trimmed nails.

Harold Bluetooth has nothing to do with what we may associate bluetooth with today! He was a king of Denmark and Norway c. 958 – c.986AD. His father had been the first recognized ruler of the Danish kingdom from the Jelling dynasty and he introduced Christianity to Denmark, consolidating his rule over most of Jutland and Zealand.

Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601) was an astronomer, astrologer, alchemist and writer, known for his astronomical and planetary observations. He is best known for being particularly factual and it is said that his observations were some five times more accurate than the alternate best available observations at the time. This leads me to wonder how this was measured and what else may have been touted as fact.

In the end we don’t manage to identify any of these characters specifically. After a browse around we make our way down to the gift shop where mum and Harley are waiting. They have enjoyed themselves and Harley has been treated to an ice-cream, which means that Jasper now gets one too. We complete the purchase just in time before the museum shop closes for the day and we are ushered back out into the grey afternoon drizzle.

Would I Return?

Yes. There is plenty to do here for the whole family. Unfortunately today the children’s exhibition was closed. The various sections might not, of themselves, be enough to hold the young one’s interest, however, there is certainly enough to pique their interest as you go through.

I could have spent the whole day here. There were some very excellent exhibitions related to medieval religious artifacts that were of particular interest to me (but not to the kids!).

Note: the descriptions in this post refer in many cases to those explanations supplied by the museum itself. These have been supplemented by the author’s own research and insight.