Gorgon Loop / Looped Cross / St. John's Cross / St. Hannes Cross - 6029B

Modelled after a 10th Century pendant cross found in England, the looped cross is a form of solar cross found throughout the Viking world. Variously it is known as a Gorgon Loop, looped square, Bowen knot, St. John's Arms/Cross of St John, Saint Hannes cross.  The symbol appears on a number of old objects in Northern Europe. It features prominently on a picture stone from Hablingbo, Gotland, Sweden, that was created between 400 and 600 AD.  It is also similar to a traditional heraldic emblem called a Bowen knot.  In Finland it's called Hannunvaakuna. It's an ancient Finnish symbol of luck, that protects from evil and was painted or carved on houses and barns, and domestic utensils such as tableware, to protect them and their owners from evil spirits and bad luck. The oldest surviving example is a pair of 1000-year-old (Finnish pre-Christian period) wooden skis decorated with the symbol.