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LOT 0349
Viking Age Bronze and Crystal Pendant with Beast's Head
CIRCA 10TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/4 in. (42.01 grams, 83 mm high).
With fusiform hexagonal-section crystal bead modified for use as a pendant with the addition of a bronze collar bearing stamped 'bowtie' motifs attached to two lateral straps converging at the end to form a knotted and looped bail; finial formed as a beast-head with raised snout and piriform eyes, shallow flange ears, slanted muzzle; thick bronze wire suspension loop with ends twisted around the shank. [No Reserve]
ProvenancePrivate collection formed in Europe in the 1980s.
Westminster collection, central London, UK.
Cf. similar animal-head profile on the weathervane from Källunge church, Gotland in Franceschi, G., Jorn, A. & Magnus, B., Fuglen, Dyret og Mennesket i Nordisk Jernalderkunst, vol.2, Borgen, 2005, pl.181.
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
AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0349
Viking Age Bronze and Crystal Pendant with Beast's Head
Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
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Viking Silver Mammen Style Dragon Pendant
10th-early 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Of discoid form with central motif of a low-relief regardant beast with piriform shoulder and punced body, looped tendrils enmeshing the body. 9.1 grams, 35 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Viking Age Gold Twisted Bracelet
9th-11th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £1,235
Composed of a slender, decoratively twisted penannular hoop with expanded collared terminals. 9.51 grams, 61 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Viking Age Bronze Bird Brooch
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Modelled facing left, stylised wing and body detailing; remains of a fitting element to reverse. 6.06 grams, 30 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Bird brooches from the late(r) Viking era have been found in Scandinavia as well in areas occupied and inhabited by the Vikings and Norsemen within England, in Anglo-Scandinavian and Anglo-Saxon contexts. These so-called bird shaped brooches can be dated to the 11th and even early 12th century. Stylistically the brooch here cannot be categorised as a distinct 'Viking style' such as the late Urnes style, although some types of other bird shaped brooches shows us connections to the Ringerike and Urnes style. The decoration and form of the bird on the brooch here is more influenced by the development of Romanesque styles spreading from the Continent into Scandinavian art, like the style of a bird, depicted on the right corner next to the door portal of Rimsø Kirke, Jylland, completed in 1150 A.D.
