This is the so-called “Buddha bucket” — one of the many great archaeological remains from the most important Viking burial ship ever discovered — the Osenberg ship, dating from 834 CE (says dendrochronological analysis). 70 feet long and 16 feet wide, the ship had been intentionally set up on high ground away from other settlements, its prow facing the sea. Although the intricately carved ship had been designed for close-to-shore travel, its final resting place was designed to be a landlocked Internment site for two women.
The Osenberg ship was filled with other items besides the roughly 75- and 50- year old deceased. Luxurious tapestries, a bed, a wagon, and this bucket here give some indications. Scholars have debated about the identity of the women, with some arguing the older was a Scandinavian queen named Ása, but others argue differently. Both had eaten a lot more meat than fish, had used metal toothpicks, and wore fancy garments, so there is a consensus that they were elites.
My favorite theory is that at least the older woman was a sort of seeress-shaman. There was a staff among the remains that perhaps was a “völva staff” or Viking-era wand used by females who practiced “seidhr” — magic associated with prophecy in the Norse world. Also, when the bodies were exhumed for better analysis in 2007 some cannabis seeds were discovered, perhaps for religious ritual use.
Fascinatingly, the older woman had a congenital condition called Morgagni Syndrome, which causes thickening of the frontal skull and may have led to her appearance changing in later life to look more masculine. You wonder if that alteration would have made her seem more magical.
Regardless, the fact that Oseberg was such an ostentatious burial — and that it was reserved for women — shows that the Viking-era elite women could hold a lot of prestige.
And the Buddha bucket with the figure in lotus? Probably no connection to the East Asian religion. In fact the cloisonne figure looks more like those found in the Irish Book of Durrow Gospels
Sources: Vikings Fact and Fictions Kirsten Wolf and Tristan Mueller-Vollmer ABC-CLIO Santa Barbara CA 2018. @ The Norwegian American “Viking ship cannabis conundrum”, Jan 27, 2016, M. Michael Brady. @ Norwegian History Univ Oslo, “Seid – the powerful sorcery of the Vikings” Marianne Moen (5 Dec 2016 modified 5 Nov 2020). National Geographic, Verónica Walker, “Viking ship’s buried clues may reveal identities of mystery women,” 4 Jan 2020
