A gold pendant in the form of a central cross with three crosses to the side and bottom arms; the body decorated with granulated and filigree decoration with central bosses to each cross, rope work border to each; suspension loop in the form of a beast head with granulated and filigree decoration forming the face and hair.

PROVENANCE:
Property of a European collector; acquired before 2000. Accompanied by a X-Ray Fluorescence metal analysis certificate.

LITERATURE:
For similar gold pendants from the Hiddensee Island hoard, see Stralsund Museum of Cultural History, Germany.

FOOTNOTES:
This piece bears many similarities to a hoard found on the island of Hiddensee in the Baltic Sea. The hoard consisted of a classic Borre-style disc brooch, a neck ring of four twisted rods and a necklace of ten stylised cruciform pendants, such as this example. The items constitute a single set of jewellery and seems to be a gift from a Danish nobleman intended for presentation to a Slav woman of high standing. They were buried for safety en route, during some local emergency that resulted in it not being claimed.

Evidence for the production of pendants in the Hiddensee style is provided by the remarkable find of forty-one bronze dies, as used for the manufacture of the pressed sheets onto which the filigree wires and granules were soldered. These dies were kept together in a leather bag, which had been dropped in the harbour at Hedeby.