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LOT 0377
'The Ferryhill' Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Three-Dimensional Urnes Stirrup-Type Mount with Head of Odin
11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 in. (27.39 grams, 50.66 mm).
A bowed anthropomorphic mount in the form of the face of Odin, with oval right and damaged left eye, beard and hair raised to form a convex shape, rounded cheeks, a triangular nose and a beard, moustache with lateral protrusion, the hair openwork and formed of entwined linear elements, five rivet holes present.
ProvenanceFound by Steve Aldred whilst searching with a metal detector near Ferryhill, County Durham, UK, on Tuesday 8th March 2022.
Recorded with the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) and subsequently returned to the finder.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.DUR-834DAB, where this object is described as: 'a find of note and has been designated: of National importance'.
Accompanied by a copy of the article about the circumstances surrounding the finding published in the February 2024 issue of Treasure Hunting Magazine.
Accompanied by a copy of a photograph taken of the object when it was found on 8th March 2022.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12074-214165.
The Hotspot, Treasure Hunting Magazine, February 2024, News and Views, p.12 & 13.
LiteratureSee Williams, D., Late Saxon Stirrup-Strap Mounts: a classification and catalogue: a contribution to the study of Late Saxon ornamental metalwork, 1997; Council for British Archaeology Research Reports no.111; and Wilson, D.M. and Klindt-Jensen, O., Viking Art, London, 1966.
FootnotesComparison has been made with stirrup-strap mounts of Williams (1997) Class A, Type 9, and especially with variants of the form (see HAMP-B7C312). Although relatively few of these mounts have been found, and their distribution is spread across the country, there is an arguable focus on Yorkshire. Commenting on a 2007 Isle of Wight example (IOW-4FA904), Barry Ager (then of the British Museum) suggested a connection with horse-riding equipment, and in particular drew comparisons with a type of face-mask mount on the Danish harness-bow from Søllested (see Wilson and Klindt-Jensen, pl. 37).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0377
'The Ferryhill' Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Three-Dimensional Urnes Stirrup-Type Mount with Head of Odin
Sold for (Inc. bp): £9,100
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Viking Age Silver Decorated Axe-Shaped Pendant
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Trapezoidal in plan with punched pellets and pointillé border, central serpent motif. 1.95 grams, 30 mm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman. -
Viking Age Twisted Bronze Bracelet
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Penannular with twisted twisted rod shank, returned loop finials. 70 grams, 66 mm
Private European collection formed before 2000. UK art market. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Viking Age Scandinavian Silver Filigree Tau Cross Pendant
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
With scooped outline to the body, transverse suspension bar; applied filigree and granule detailing, large 'eyes' flanking the median panel with looped interlace detailing; cleaned and polished. 7.5 grams, 39 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12070-212342.
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 seem 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 the items 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.
