Post World War II Europe saw the creation not only of new military and economic alliances, but also new cultural treaties. In the context of one such treaty, an exhibition was devised to make Norwegian art better known in Europe and to contribute to international understanding in the midst of the Cold War – at least according to the Norwegian Foreign Minister Halvard Lange in the preface to the catalogue depicted here. The exhibition also included parts of the Hoen Hoard. The Viking Age was presented in this context as a contribution to a shared European heritage.