Loading, please wait...
LOT 1725
Merovingian Gold Hoop Earring with Garnets
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (6.36 grams, 34 mm).
With a thick penannular loop and polyhedral finial set with twelve garnet cloisons, some detached.
ProvenanceAcquired in the mid 1980s-1990s.
Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent.
Private collection, since the late 1990s.
Cf. Menghin, W., The Merovingian Period. Europe Without Borders, Berlin, 2007, item I.33.9.1.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 1725
Merovingian Gold Hoop Earring with Garnets
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
-
Viking Bronze Fire Steel with Dragons
Circa 10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
With bronze handle formed as two opposing dragons, each biting its own tail forming the loops; iron striker below. 37.6 grams, 57 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Viking Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Openwork Beast Motif
9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Hollow-formed with openwork decorative outer surface attached to a plain back-plate with one spring-lug and catchplate intact; the upper face divided by a heavy segmented median rib and zoomorphic ornament in the outer panels, arranged symmetrically along the rib with a similar transverse band; the corners of the wider end reinforced with vertical posts ending in heavy lobed ‘ears’; the side panels decorated with zones of interlace zoomorphic ornament and the upper-end panel with a continuation of the median rib, traces of ornamental interlace; the lower-end panel plain. 109 grams, 56 mm (162 grams total, 10.5 cm including stand)
Acquired on the UK art market, 1995-2000s. Private collection, London. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12987-246190. -
Pre-Viking Silver Filigree Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
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.
