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LOT 1431
Viking Age Borre Style Bronze Strap End with Wolf's Head
10TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (7.61 grams, 44 mm).
With five attachment pins to the reverse, panel of Borre style ring-chain ornament with transverse ribbed panel, mask to the tip. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired before 1990.
Ex property of a professional collector.
Cf. Thunmark-Nylén, L., Die Wikingerzeit Gotlands I.: Abbildungen der Grabfunde, Stockholm, 1992, fig.198, items 25-27, 28, 29; Thomas, G., A Survey of Late Anglo-Saxon and Viking-Age Strap-Ends from Britain, London, 2000, fig.3.29,6.6B-C.
FootnotesThe Borre style was a Viking art style which had a significant impact on the material culture of Britain during the Viking age of the latter 9th and 10th centuries. The type is mainly divided into three sub-types on the basis of motifs used: a) animal masks and ring-knot; b) vertebral ring-chain; and c) other interlace designs. Our specimen belongs to the first sub-type.
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LOT 1431
Viking Age Borre Style Bronze Strap End with Wolf's Head
Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
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Viking Bronze Bridle Strap Junction with Beast Heads
10th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £400
Comprising a rectangular suspension loop with D-section shank and mask below, two flanking arms each with a zoomorphic (bear?) face, one terminating in a wolf's head and the other in a bird's head; small loops below the terminals. 30 grams, 63 mm
Found Bardney, Lincolnshire, UK, in the early 1990s.
This bridle junction is decorated in the Anglo-Scandinavian Ringerike style. On each side of the central hole is an outward facing animal, their beaked heads positioned on the outer edges. The details on the face are carried out in moulded relief as well as engraving. -
Viking Age Base Silver Ring
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Lozengiform bezel with stud to each angle, incised hatched design. 2.04 grams, 22.78 mm overall, 19.47 mm internal diameter (approximate size British S 1/2, USA 9 1/4, Europe 20.63, Japan 19)
Acquired on the UK art market. Ex private Merseyside, UK, collection. -
Pre-Viking Silver-Gilt Scabbard Mount
Circa 4th-5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £585
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. 4.2 grams, 14 mm
Acquired early 1990s. From an East Anglian private collection.
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.
