Chapter VI

June 25, 2014

Oslo

As previously mentioned, my art class features many excursions to museums, etc. As mentioned even previouslyer, I would revisit many of the places that I saw on the three hour tour my first weekend here. The first place I returned was the Viking Ship Museum.

One thing to note about Oslo is that it is built around the Oslo fjord. (Geologically speaking it is not a fjord, but that matters not.) What does matter is that in the western side of the city there is a peninsula called Bygdøy. On this peninsula, clustered together like a nest of historically significant eggs, are some of Oslo's best museums including the Viking Ship Museum. There are many routes to the museum using public transportation, but for the sake of the nice day and to enrich our experience our Professor decided to have us take the ferry. 

So at the appropriate time, we all met at the T-Bane station and rode the train down to the waterfront. Arriving downtown Oslo we fast-walked across a couple of streets and through a corridor of shops towards the pier. There are about twenty of us in the class and so sticking together as best we could we crowded on to the loading dock. Once we were there we noticed a foreboding sign (literally) that forbade the use of our public transportation cards on the ferry. In other words, though the website explicitly states that we may use the ferry with our Ruter cards, the ferry operators denied it. Thankfully, thanks some advanced diplomacy our professor was able to convince them to let us aboard and we pushed of for Bygdøy at last.

The ferry ride afforded us a wonderful view of the fjord. The sky was clear and the water was shimmering blue. The breeze coming off the water was refreshing on such a hot day. The sounds of the sea came from all sides: the seagulls cawing, the water lapping at the side of the boat, the flapping of loose cloth in the breeze, and the general happy tones of people who like the water. It was pleasant. The idea of riding a boat to the Viking Ship museum may have added a little romance to the fifteen minute voyage as well. 

The Viking Ship Museum was very busy and crowded even outside. This has been typical with my museum experience here, they are popular places to visit. The importance of visiting this museum for our class is that the Norwegians take their national identity seriously and the Viking ships are a big part of that. This is a particularly important variable when looking at the narrative of their art. When the Viking ship were discovered in the later half of the 19th century with the last and best specimen being extracted in 1904 this was a significant time in Norwegian history. Norway had been in a servile union with Denmark for four hundred years when at last it ended it 1814 due in large part to the wily maneuvers of Karl Johan who is an extraordinary individual. Though free of Denmark they ended up in another union with Sweden which was better (but still not great) until 1905 when they became an independent sovereign nation. The years leading up to 1905 were filled with nationalistic fervor which fueled the search for Viking relics as a link to the past and when they were discovered they in turn fueled the feeling of national identity. That being said, it makes sense to begin our class with the Vikings and the Viking styles. 

Out in the front of the museum are two busts in honor of Helga Ingstad and Anne Stine the husband and wife team who discovered L'Anse aux Meadows proving Viking presence in Greenland in the 11th century. (Pardon the tourist couple doing their best American Gothic pose in front.) 

Inside the museum are three Viking ships. The first one, discovered in 1867, is called the Tune (pronounced Tun-a). It is in the poorest condition, primarily because the excavation methods of the time were still in the early stages of development. It is dated to c. 900. The second one was discovered in 1880 and is a little older (c. 890) but is in much better condition. In fact, it is the most seaworthy of the three. It is called the Gokstad. The third ship was discovered in 1904 and is the oldest of the three dating to c. 834. This ship is the most ornate and the contained the most burial objects including the famous animal head posts, the so-called Buddha Bucket, and two mysterious female skeletons. 

 

These artworks are important for my studies and so it was, as it always is, important to see them up close and personally. I was able to take a good many photos, though I had to try and learn the art of photographing objects through smudged glass. 

There are many advantages to making excursions to museums as a class. One, is that it is easier to familiarize yourself with the public transportation system. Learning the T-Bane routes and when to take the ferry are valuable skills which open up even more possibilities for exploration. Another is that it helps as you learn the city itself and where things are and how to make the most of future individual trips. Also, by visiting these things in class it becomes easier to fit the curated elements into the story of Norwegian culture and history. Consequently, each museum supplements and complements the others. And there will be others...many others.