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Details
LOT 0332
Scandinavian Viking Sacrificed Iron Sword
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 - 26 in. (1.15 kg total, 9-66 cm).
Deliberately broken up on deposition, Petersen's Type L variant, comprising: D-shaped pommel with peened tang above and upper portion of tang forming the grip; lower section of tang with separate lower guard, scaphoid in plan and gently drooping in profile with convergent ends; upper portion of double-edged lentoid-section blade; lower section of parallel-sided blade with rounded tip. [3]
Provenance
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12726-234732.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Literature
Cf. Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Woodbridge, 2002, p.80-1, for a similar sword in the BM.
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