Some years ago, while my Celto-Germanic Culture, Myth and History blog was still active, I posted my thoughts on the images contained on the Gnezdovo mask amulet and the Snaptun stone. There is still a link to my article on Pinterest: Celto-Germanic Culture, Myth and History: The Image of Loki on the Snaptun Stone and the Gnezdovo Amulet http://celto-germanic.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/the-image-of-loki-on-snaptun-stone-and.html
'This was their decision: that the hammer was best of all the precious works, and in it there was the greatest defence against the Rime-Giants; and they gave sentence, that the dwarf should have his wager. Then Loki offered to redeem his head, but the dwarf said that there was no chance of this. ‘Take me, then,’ quoth Loki; but when Brokkr would have laid hands on him, he was a long way off. Loki had with him those shoes with which he ran through air and over water. Then the dwarf prayed Thor to catch him, and Thor did so. Then the dwarf would have hewn off his head; but Loki said that he might have the head, but not the neck. So the dwarf took a thong and a knife, and would have bored a hole in Loki’s lips and stitched his mouth together, but the knife did not cut. Then Brokkr said that it would be better if his brother’s awl were there: and even as he named it, the awl was there, and pierced the lips. He stitched the Ups together, and Loki ripped the thong out of the edges. That thong, with which Loki’s mouth was sewn together, is called Vartari.'
It should be remembered that there is also an association between Loki and fire. Many commentators deny this association but there is evidence to be found in Jacob Grimm's Teutonic Mythology, volume 1:
'The three brothers Hlêr, Logi, Kari on the whole seem to represent water, fire and air as elements. Now a striking narrative in the Prose Edda places Logi ["flame, fire"] by the side of Loki, a being from the giant province beside a kinsman and companion of the gods. This is no mere play upon words; the two really signify the same thing from different points of view, Logi the natural force of fire, and Loki, with a shifting of the sound, a shifting of the sense. From the burly fire-giant Logi has developed a crafty, seductive evil-doer. Both can be compared to the Greek Prometheus and Hephaestus.'
In my opinion, the character known as Logi in Gylfaginning, who in Old Norse is the personification of fire, is a hypostasis of Loki, as is Utgard-Loki.
'“Then spoke the one who came last, ‘Who was called Loki: ‘I know such a trick, which I am ready to try: that there is no one within here who shall eat his food more quickly than I.’ Then Útgarda-Loki answered: ‘That is a feat, if thou accomplish it; and this feat shall accordingly be put to the proof.’ He called to the farther end of the bench, that he who was called Logi should come forth on the floor and try his prowess against Loki. Then a trough was taken and borne in upon the hall-floor and filled with flesh; Loki sat down at the one end and Logi at the other, and each ate as fast as he could, and they met in the middle of the trough. By that time Loki had eaten all the meat from the bones, but Logi likewise had eaten all the meat, and the bones with it, and the trough too; and now it seemed to all as if Loki had lost the game.
'....
but he who was called Logi was “wild-fire,” and he burned the trough no less swiftly than the meat. '
The Snaptun stone is most clearly a forge stone, used as part of a bellows, directing air into the heart of the fire. Its soapstone construction makes it resistant to heat. However, this was no simple forge stone; in my opinion, it had a ritual and possibly a cultic purpose, and may serve as evidence for a cult of Loki in Demark, where it was discovered in 1950 at Snaptun, possibly as a result of tidal movement. It also serves as evidence for an association between Loki and the element of fire.
The link between Loki and the Gnezdovo pendant is far less certain and this is why I no longer stand by my earlier theory. The discovery of this item dates back to 1993 and was part of a burial hoard, containing a total of 395 items, including temple rings and other pendants. The actual site where it was discovered, Gnezdovo, begain to arouse interest in 1867 with the construction of the Orel-Vitebsk railway after the discovery of some 10th century silver ornaments. However, it was not until 1874 that a systematic excavation started and was led by M.F. Kustsinsky. It should be noted that Gnezdovo was a Varangian trading station, so one should not be surprised by the mix of Norse, Slavic and even Arabic cultural objects discovered there.
While there is nothing definitive in the design of the pendant to indicate that it represents Odin, it should be noted that He is also called Grimnir, the 'hooded' or the 'masked' one and this pendant does appear to resemble a mask. There is certainly a stylistic resemblance between the pendant and the Snaptun stone but this should not be interpreted as definitive proof of a link with Loki. I would also add, that to the best of my knowledge, no academic has stated any association between the pendant and a specific deity.
