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Details

LOT 1760

Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Plundered Gaming King Piece

9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.

3/4 in. (24.7 grams, 20 mm).

Domed bronze stud with traces of gilding and enamel, silver stud at apex; embedded in a circular block of lead to form a trade weight or gaming piece; two silver discs (or ends of a silver loop) to the underside. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Found Suffolk, UK.
From an old private collection of Norfolk, UK, gentleman, formed since 1998.

Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.NMS-C85DE6.

Literature

Cf. Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010, item 1.14-j, for type.

Footnotes

Trade weights and gaming pieces in Anglo-Scandinavian culture were often formed by taking a small and finely-made pre-existing item and embedding it into a lead matrix. The effect of this practice has been to preserve smaller pieces which would otherwise not have survived.

CONDITION

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AUCTIONS:

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LOT 1760

Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Plundered Gaming King Piece

Sold for (Inc. bp): £416

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