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LOT 1700
Scandinavian Pre-Viking Silver Wrist Clasp
5TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 in. (5.78 grams, 36 mm).
Spiral-coiled wrist-clasp of Hines's Class A with a broad rounded loop to the centre. [2]
ProvenanceEx property of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Hines, J., Clasps-Hektespenner-Agraffen, Stockholm, 1993, fig.5, for discussion.
FootnotesThe spiral-coil type of wrist clasp is the earliest form of an artefact type which became a very popular costume element in especially Norway and the English East Midlands in the early Anglo-Saxon Period. Grave-finds indicate that they were used to secure the cuffs of robes worn by high-status women.
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
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11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
With mounting hole at the apex and two to the lower edge, vestigial ledge to the reverse, reserved central motif of a wolf in profile with head thrown back; Williams's Class A Type 11. 20.5 grams, 55 mm
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Viking Age Twisted Bronze Bracelet
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Penannular in form with hook-and-eye closure, twisted shank. 6 grams, 58 mm
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Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Williams's Class A Type 1 with trapezoidal plaque and narrow ledge to the rear; incised geometric design following the outline of the mount with symmetrical panels; to the neck five vertical lines, perhaps pseudo-runes. 19.88 grams, 50 mm
Property of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.
The markings on the neck appear to conform to the shapes of four runes, being inverted chevrons to the edges (runic 'U'), a character of two verticals and a sloping cross-bar (runic 'H'), and a simple vertical stroke (runic 'I'). However, the outer chevrons are formed as the junction of the inner border with a vertical while the cross-bar appears to be a later abrasion. The form of 'H' with a single cross-bar is very early (2nd -5th century AD) and is almost unknown in England, while by the 8th century this form had been replaced in Scandinavia by a rune formed as a vertical with a small saltire to the centre (like an asterisk). It is nevertheless possible that these marks were intended as a form of pseudo-runic text.
