Kalevala Koru Sun Lion | Vintage

The lion ornament, whose mane spreads like sunbeams, is based on the Halikko treasure. The mounts on either side, in turn, imitate the strap-ends found in Rikala, Halikko. The beast depicted in Romanesque style likely has its roots in Gotland, and possibly the strap-ends as well, but the latter's design was widely imitated and modified in Finland during the 11th and 12th centuries. Kalevala Koru's "Sun Lion" thus brings a breath of fresh air from a time when influences from Christian Europe spread to Finns via the Baltic Sea islands.