Details

LOT 0398

Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Sword with Jade Pommel and Elaborate Guards

10TH CENTURY AD

35 1/2" (689 grams, 90.5cm).

A superb Anglo-Scandinavian double-edged cutting sword of Petersen Type L or O variant, straight tapering blade with rounded point and battle nicks to the cutting edges, tapering fullers and strong tang; boat-shaped cross guard decorated with crosses and vertical segments within a double border, the upper guard decorated in a similar way; massive five-lobed pommel carved from nephrite with thick vertical lines.

Provenance

Property of a London businessman; formerly with A. Artsi; accompanied by an archaeological report by military specialist Dr Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no. 10300-168752.

Literature

See Petersen, J., De Norske Vikingsverd, Oslo, 1919; Oakeshott, R.E., The Archaeology of the weapons, London, 1960; Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002; Żabiński, G., Viking Age Swords from Scotland, in Acta Militaria Mediaevalia III, Kraków, Sanok, 2007, pp.29-84. The sword finds parallels in various similar Viking age specimens of L variant; two very similar swords, both in the British Museum, have been published by Peirce (2002, pp.77-81). The combination of the curved guard with the five lobes suggests an evolution of the pattern of variant O, like the swords of Oslo University (from Vestre Berg, Løiten parish, Akershus, Norway, Peirce, 2002, pp.87ff.) and Gunnarsby (Rygge, Smaal), (Petersen, 1919, fig.105).

Footnotes

This sword type, considered Anglo-Scandinavian in origin, is usually dated to c. 850-975. Swords of this type, with particular emphasis on those found in England, often display various kinds of ornament on the central lobes of their pommels, including patterns enclosed in borders of various shapes. The employment of a nephrite pommel is remarkable in our sword, which attests the extensive travels of the Vikings and their continuous trade and contacts with central Asian caravan routes.

CONDITION