A fragment of amorphous form, decorated in relief with scrolling tendrils and anthemion, painted egg-and-dart ornament above, surmounted by moulded bands and a frieze of meander and chequerboard panels; remains of red and black painted pigment.

Formed as the bust of Eros looking upwards, stub wings to his shoulders, holding a goose to his chest; conical socket above each wing; eyes with silver inserts; old collector's label '1994 51.75' to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand; likely a socket base.

Comprising a rectangular plate, richly decorated with embossed laurel leaves in a grid, framed with raised bosses, the buckle loop comprising opposing dragons with open mouths, holding a spherical tongue-rest, another pair of smaller dragon heads to base, the tongue with a smaller pair of punch-decorated dragon heads.

Hemispherical in form, repoussé interior displaying graduated concentric registers of stylised and mythical animals within tessellating cartouches; a low relief mesomphalos decorated with rosette at centre; geometric ornament around the rim.

Displaying a corrugated rim above and below; two advancing soldiers, each striding forwards over the headless body of a dead enemy, carrying a severed head in each hand; the soldiers shown bearded and each wearing a pointed and segmented helmet with a recess to accommodate the ears, a cuirass and thigh-length tunic, with a bow over one shoulder and a sword slung from a waist belt; mounted on a custom-made display stand.

Of penannular form with expanded sections at the centre and to both shoulders.

Comprising a rectangular headplate with two panels of chip-carved Style I ornament, flanking a beast-head with triangular muzzle and two pellet eyes, raised three-sided frame and outer band of pellets above beast-heads with lentoid eyes; the shallow bow with raised median rib, flanges to the edges and punched pellet detailing; footplate with beast-head between curved pellet lines, pierced horse-head lappets, lozengiform central panel with knot of Style I limbs; two lateral discs, one pierced to accept a stud and the other with a domed stud in place; the finial a disc with human mask inverted; pin-lug and part of catch to the reverse.

Displaying chased panels populated with Style I zoomorphs and geometric forms, borders of annulets, raised masks to the upper corners of the headplate; applied discoid boss to bow decorated with a rosette, addorsed beast heads below; extensive remains of gilding; pin lug and catchplate to reverse and remains of ancient repair, lower part absent.

Comprising a round-section crescent with flared ends terminating in two curved spatulate flat panels, each with a ropework border surrounding a two-band knotwork motif; cleaned and conserved.

The weeping Virgin with her head bowed to the left and hands raised to her chest on a dotted gilt background, an expression of pain on her delicately formed face; wearing a white veil and a black long-sleeved robe, the veil arranged as a headdress and covering her hair; on wood and mounted in a later carved wooden architectural frame.

Shown beneath an arcade, offering his cloak on the end of his sword to the beggar at his feet; polychrome detailing; repaired with lead cames and held in a wooden frame.

Composed from irregular painted panels bearing mainly foliage designs and figural elements; Mary crowned and enthroned with infant Jesus on her knee, in a lobed vesica-shaped panel held with lead cames; mounted in a wooden frame with modern replacements.

Carved in the half-round with a frieze composed of interlaced foliage with two rows of acanthus leaves and foliage scrolls, framing a lion's head on one side and a human head on the other, remains of lion's mane to the third; drilled holes to the raised surfaces and sockets for the insertion of decorative stones.

The bar with central D-shaped block pierced vertically by a stud surmounted by the suspension loop, with four pierced flanges to the underside; the frame in two sections, the larger a U-shaped rod with pivot for the bar, the smaller pivoting within the inner face, both pierced on the inner face; the block inscribed to one face with capital S and to the other with intersecting Vs; the bar inscribed to one face in capitals 'A DOMINI TECVM' and to the other in coarsely incised capitals 'AVEMARIA G[R]ACIAPLE[NA]'; the smaller rod inscribed in capitals 'CREATOREN CELI ET TERRE ET IN [IES]VN'; the larger inscribed with a band of scrolled decoration and the text in Lombardic capitals 'SOLI DEO HONOR ET GLORIA'; the accompanying letter discusses the texts (1) Ave Maria G[r]acia ple[n]a Dominus Tecum 'Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord [is] with thee'; (2) Soli Deo Honor et Gloria 'Honour and glory to God alone'; (3) Creatorem celi et terrae et inferum 'creator of heaven and earth and in Jesus'. The intersecting Vs may form a monogram for A[ve] M[aria]; the 1847 letter describes the findspot as 'found at Kirkleavington near Yarm in the sill of a brook' in the North Riding of Yorkshire.

Gold hoop and discoid bezel with incuse ropework border; incuse image of a bird of prey perching with wings spread and head turned; blackletter incuse and reversed inscription in an arc above the bird's head and pinions '·al : for : ye : best ·' (all for the best); repair to hoop.

Or a leg ring inscribed '+Earle of Rutland' in derivative black letter script, for a female merlin or sparrow hawk (due to the youth of Edmund Plantagenet who died aged 17); the ring with a convex interior face.

Displaying large flower heads, foliage and a skull to the outer face, enhanced with black enamelling; interior inscribed in a cursive script 'In god alone wee two are one', together with possible maker's stamps 'D' and 'F' in two rectangular cartouches.

Composed of a gently carinated hoop, the interior inscribed in cursive script 'Love is the bond of pease'.

Composed of a decoratively notched hoop divided into chased rhomboidal panels displaying foliate tendrils and horizontal hatching alternately; the interior inscribed in Roman capitals with the Latin phrase: 'x x x x VIVE x VT x VIVAS'.

Set comprising gold five pounds, two pounds, sovereign and half sovereign. Obvs: profile bust with GEORGIVS VI D G BR OMN REX F D IND IMP legends. Revs: St George and dragon; date in exergue; with original Royal Mint hinged red leatherette case of issue.

Formed as a hollow drum-shaped casting with ornament to the obverse and sidewall; the high-relief designs comprising three radiating panels of Oseberg Style 'gripping-beast' motifs with a dome at the centre and three to the beaded border; the slightly sloping sidewall with four panels of S-shaped animals with interlaced tendrils, separated by beaded borders; to the reverse, the perimeter flange supported by two integral blocks supporting the catchplate and pin-hole respectively, the latter damaged and replaced by a second offset hole. 44 grams, 50 mm



European collection, acquired 1980s. Ex property of a UK collector. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 200319.

The Oseberg style shows a strong interplay between zoomorphic and geometric patterns that continues artistic traditions predating the Viking Age, but continued in the Viking Age at least until 875 A.D. While 8th century art and ornaments show considerable variation across Scandinavia, the gripping-beast motif was adopted in every region within a few decades after 790 A.D.

Of Type P 51 B4 (Jansson 1984b); double-shelled with detached openwork zoomorphic top shell studded with five projecting bosses, alternating chased zoomorphic and geometric panels below; flange rim with ornamental shaping; concave underside with pin-lugs and catchplate. 153 grams, 10.7 cm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.200460.

Comprising a slender penannular hoop and hooked finials with conical bosses. 22.12 grams, 13 cm wide



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.200432.

During the Salian period, large treasures of silver coins, bars and jewellery were buried in the West Slavic settlement areas, east of the borders of the empire. This torc corresponds with a Slavic neck collar from the hoard of Farve, Schleswig Holstein. The collar is in silver, but the structure is identical to our torc.

Of crescentic form and of Northern European type (also widespread in the historical Rus region), with beaded border, finely decorated integral loop, very fine granular decoration with three raised bosses. 5.97 grams, 45 mm



Acquired on the German art market before 2000. From an old Munich collection.

Displaying ropework and granular borders, integral loop with granular decoration, central pellet and radiating triangles in a sun or star motif; style originating in the Baltic or Slavic area, possibly the historical Rus region. 3.05 grams, 24 mm



Acquired in the 1990s. Ex property of a German collector.

Flat disc with integral suspension loop, applied granules and filigree ropework detailing. 5.57 grams, 40 mm



Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.

Formed as a crouching beast modelled in the round with hollow slot to the underside; elongated head with raised lentoid eyes and ellipsoid ears, ribbed wings to the shoulders, knop tail and splayed claws to the feet; mouth open with detailed fangs. 84.9 grams, 66 mm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 200289.

The navigation techniques in use in Iron Age Northern Europe were very sophisticated, as would be expected from people bordering the Baltic, North Sea and North Atlantic where boat- and ship-building traditions have been perfected over more than a thousand years. A carved wooden panel from Bergen, Norway, shows a number of Viking longships at sea, some with weathervanes mounted on the stempost. They are mounted vertically with the beast on the outer end. Gilded bronze weathervanes appear on the roofs of medieval churches in Sweden, Norway and Finland where they are often regarded as ornamental: symbols of access to resources and craftsmanship for the important families who endowed such buildings. These weathervanes in many cases originally adorned ships and were used as part of the navigational equipment. They may have inspired the medieval Norman custom of attaching a gilded weathervane or cock to church roofs, which eventually spread to secular buildings such as castles in France and Italy where their use was restricted to certain ranks of nobility (Lindgrén, 1983).

Featuring a squat cylindrical body, ornate cruciform motif to upper face, zoomorphic panels to the side wall; hollow-formed; remains of pin lug and catchplate to reverse. 93 grams, 53 mm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.

Sub-rectangular in plan with rounded ends, with the remains of a spur towards one end indicating the pouring point of the molten metal into the mould. 36.74 grams, 67 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Eastchurch, Swale, Kent, UK, on Sunday 1st September 2019. Accompanied by a copy of the report on find of potential Treasure for HM Coroner with reference no.2020 T3. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.KENT-B43CF3.

Although listed as Early Medieval (i.e. Viking) in the coroner's report, this ingot could date from as early as the Bronze Age. The gold purity is near to 21 carat with an elemental breakdown of: Au 87.9, Ag 11.1, Sn 0.2 and traces of other elements.

Substantial hoop with coiled ends forming the bezel. 4.31 grams, 22.21 mm overall, 18.97 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)



Acquired 1970-2010. Collection of a late Japanese gentleman.

Composed of a decoratively twisted tapering annular ring and a free-running tongue of tapering round-section form. 7.34 grams, 33 mm



Acquired on the London art market, 1980s-1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.202988.

Of Type D, with fragmentary applied beaded wire border and ribbed suspension loop; the repoussé design a zoomorph with the body formed from looped tendrils; the head beneath the loop with C-shaped left-facing head outlined with pellets, crossbar and eye. 2.24 grams, 28 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Orsett, Essex, UK, in 2015. Recorded with the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) with reference no.ESS-4FF212. Disclaimed as treasure with reference number 2015 T471. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.200403.