Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Urnes Openwork Mount

Lozengiform in plan with pierced bulb to opposed angles, one with ring in situ; obverse with reserved rim, beast in profile with bent forelegs and gaping jaws, tail curled above the back, attacking a serpentine creature with segmented body and three-toed claws. 81 grams, 10.8 cm



Found Lincolshire, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12988-242245.

Openwork rhombic mounts were found in various Scandinavian places. One was found, for example, in a sunken hut at Sebbersund in Northern Jutland, and dated to the passage of 10th-11th century A.D. An openwork mount depicting a four-legged animal from Lund was excavated from a pit in a cultural deposit with dendro-chronological dates between 1060-1070.

Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, extensive filigree decoration on the body. 2.77 grams, 21 mm



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

Pendants in the form of miniature buckets have been found in a number of pagan Anglo-Saxon and Viking contexts and are generally made of bronze or iron, with gold examples being rare; three gold examples were found with the hoard from Hoen, Norway. Bronze bucket amulets have been found at Driffield in Yorkshire, and Vimose bog in Denmark, among other places. In form they represent wooden buckets bound with bronze or iron bands which have been found in Anglo-Saxon and Viking graves and are believed to have held mead or ale and were used to replenish the cups from which warriors drank. As amulets they probably represent the ecstatic power of alcoholic drink and the role of women as the dispensers of these precious beverages.

Executed using the repoussé technique, depicting interlaced snakes or possibly Jörmungandr, the world serpent; applied suspension loop with repoussé chevrons and pellets, faux ropework border around the whole. 13.04 grams, 61 mm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11729-200423.

The bracteate belongs to the main type D, showing an image of tetramorphic monsters. Probably here the representation refers to Jörmungandr, the serpent of Midgard, son of Loki and killer of Thor, protagonist of Ragnarok - the downfall of the gods. The art of the bracteate medallions is one of the few contemporary sources for the pre-Christian religion of the Nordic countries. It demonstrates that ancient Germanic mythology, although known from later texts, was built on a tradition dating back to at least the 5th-6th centuries A.D. The function of these medallions was linked to the social position of the wearer in Germanic society.