Fig. 215.—Mode of fixing the Handle to a Scandinavian Hatchet.
Fig. 216.—Another mode of fixing the Handle to a Scandinavian Hatchet.
The blades of the bronze knives found in Scandinavia are, like those of Switzerland, somewhat curved in their shape, but the handles are much more richly ornamented. Two of these knives have furnished us with the only examples known of any representation of living beings during the bronze epoch. We may notice that on one of these knives, which is represented in fig. 217, taken from Sir J. Lubbock's work, a swan is roughly carved at the offset of the blade.
Fig. 217.—Danish Bronze Knife, of the Bronze Epoch.
In another knife, which is represented in fig. 218, taken from the same work, the handle is formed by a human figure, executed with some degree of fidelity. The figure is in a standing position, and holds in front of it a nearly cylindrical-shaped vessel; the individual is represented as wearing large earrings. There is every reason to believe that this last-mentioned article belongs to the end of the bronze epoch, or else to a transitionary epoch between this and the following, for the blade is straight, like those of all the knives belonging to the iron age.