Art of Prehistory and Early History: Germanic Art – Guldgubbe

Guldgubbe or Guldgubbar, Swedish for "little gold men," were named by the farmers who repeatedly found the small gold foil figurines in the dunes of the Scandinavian province of Scania. The first antiquarian to study these charming little gold figures in 1791 adopted the farmers' name; it couldn't be more fitting.

The “oldest Toreuten of Northern Europe” created figures from gold sheet in the 6th century AD that were only one to two centimeters tall, depicting people in a wide variety of regalia and animals with admirable fine work and attention to detail.

Toreutics is the art of raised or recessed representation on wood, stone, or metal (in later times partly used only for the art of casting). Germanic goldsmiths created such raised and recessed representations as "avant-garde art" using a material that was new to them.

The name we still use today is the one they gave to this special substance back then: "gold" derives from the Indo-European *ghel = "shining, yellow". Overall, Scandinavian farmers weren't exactly early in discovering and working gold; the oldest gold artifacts known to us (the Varna burial ground) were made between 4600 and 4300 BC.

The small gold foil figures attracted particular attention because they were crafted with an unprecedented level of precision. This is illustrated better than any description by a depiction of some finds from the most famous and extensive site, "Sorte Muld":

The purpose of the gold coins, which were found primarily in the vicinity of the centers of that time, is not entirely clear (mainly because it is uncertain whether these places became wealthy through trade or due to their reputation as intellectual centers). Probably both, and the gold coins were certainly not (particularly attractive) coins, as the gold sheet is far too thin for that.

Often the tablets are so delicate that they can hardly be touched without risk of damage; the tiny, detailed motifs are barely visible to the naked eye – these works of art were certainly not intended to be carried around in one's pocket in the harsh Nordic everyday life.

Perhaps they were amulets depicting deities for the household altar (the delicate beauties could not be worn around the neck), perhaps they had a function in some cultic rituals, perhaps they also represent a kind of early court record, because they mostly depict people and human couples and sometimes slaughtered animals