Pins with bird motifs

Pins have been used since the Stone Age to fasten and decorate clothing and headwear. Early pins were made from bone or horn, and later from base and precious metals, and iron. Some had simple designs, while others featured more elaborate heads.

From the 14th to the 17th centuries, pins were generally smaller than in earlier periods. Most were small, made of copper alloys, often topped with spherical heads; larger pins with various shaped heads were less common.

 

In the territory of the Lower Castle in Vilnius, archaeologists found precious metal pins decorated with arabesques, bird-shaped (ornithomorphic) motifs, and others—some adorned with glass beads and filigree work. Two pins with bird motifs were discovered in cultural layers dated to the late 14th to early 15th centuries. One of these survived only as the upper part, cast from high-quality silver alloy and gilded. The other is preserved whole (height 6.2 cm), made of lower-grade silver and also gilded. The birds decorating these pins are small—up to 2 cm tall and 1.5 cm wide.

The upper part of a gilded silver pin with a bird motif was also found during archaeological excavations in the Upper Town area of Kernavė and is dated to the 13th–14th centuries.

 

A 14th-century style (?) bird figurine was found in Bajoriškės. This style’s pin shaft is much thicker and longer (9.2 cm) than typical pins and made from a copper alloy. All the mentioned pins and bird figurines differ in form.

 

The ornithomorphic motif is a universal symbol known in many cultures since the Stone Age, appearing in decorations and bird-shaped objects, as well as in iconography, ethnography, and folklore. Birds (such as owls, ducks, eagles, swans, etc.) are not always clearly identifiable, and their images carry many symbolic meanings.