Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 0308
Pre-Viking Silver-Gilt Scabbard Mount
CIRCA 4TH-5TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (4.2 grams, 14 mm).
Domed and with a ribbed basal rim, the sidewall with four small circular bosses each framed by a bilinear arch; surmounted by a slightly convex disc bearing an incised cross; transverse bar to the underside; Mortimer's type 4iii.
Provenance
Acquired early 1990s.
From an East Anglian private collection.
Literature
See Mortimer, P., A Pyramid Scheme. Pyramid Mounts from the 5th to the 7th century found in the United Kingdom, on academia.edu; Mortimer, P., Woden's Warriors, Ely, 2011, p.115-7.
Footnotes
The mount is an extremely early example of the so-called 'sword pyramid' mount which was used in the Vendel period as part of the sword-suspension system. It has a parallel in the find from Sandby Borg, Oland, Sweden where Style I masks also appear.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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.
RELATED LOTS
-
Viking Inspired Bronze Omega Brooch
Circa 13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
A Mordvinian omega-shaped brooch with pellet ornament and free-running tongue. 10.7 grams, 51 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance. -
.jpg)
Viking Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Cross
9th-10th century A.D.Estimate: £600 - 800 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
With decorative upper surface attached to a plain back-plate with spring-lugs and catchplate intact; the upper face divided by a heavy cast median rib with 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 ornament and the upper-end panel with a continuation of the median rib, traces of ornamental interlace; the lower-end panel plain; the transverse band pierced by two holes to accept pins (part of one one still in situ) representing 'eyes' on the stylised head; hollow-cast. 62 grams, 56 mm
Acquired in the early 1990s. From an old English collection.
These animal head-brooches were seemingly manufactured solely on Gotland, and have been classified by scholars in various ways: for example, the manner in which the back-plate is formed and applied, or if a plain internal shell was overlaid with an openwork decorative casing. MacGregor classified them according to their decorative criteria, and his scheme is generally followed in Anglophone literature. They began to appear in the Vendel period (earlier 8th century) and continued into the 12th century in a broadly similar form. Our fitting is related to the conventional group of the gripping beast ornament, here very stylised. -
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch
10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Modelled in profile with detailed high-relief plumage. 7.12 grams, 30 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Zoomorphic brooches were a long lived tradition in Germanic communities, including amongst Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians. Most types appear to have fallen out of use in the 11th century, except the ones linked with Christian symbology.
