Pendant Norse Wolf Head (Steel)

Why it is almost always the head

Look along any shelf of wolf jewellery and the head dominates. Full-body designs are the exception, and that is not laziness.

Human beings are extraordinarily good at faces and comparatively poor at everything else. We identify a face in a fraction of a second, from a bad angle, in poor light, from a crude drawing. Whole regions of the brain are given over to it.

A wolf's head triggers enough of that machinery to be recognised instantly at pendant scale. A wolf's body at the same size is a four-legged shape that could be a dog, a fox or a coyote, and the viewer has to work it out.

Heraldry reached the same conclusion centuries ago, which is why so many coats of arms show a head alone.

The design

Fully modelled rather than simplified. The mane is cut as separate fur strands that lift away from the skull, the jaws are open on a full set of teeth, and the head is worked in the round rather than pressed flat.

There are three wolves here. The heavy chain ends in two facing heads whose jaws close on the ring, and the pendant head hangs from that ring.

Stainless steel, so the carving stays crisp through daily wear.

See our Norse wolf article and the wolf jewelry range.

Free worldwide shipping, 7 to 12 business days. 30 day returns. See our shipping policy for details.