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LOT 1421
Viking Age Bronze Birka Falcon Type Sword Scabbard Chape
9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/4 in. (31.4 grams, 71 mm).
Of openwork form, collared knop to tip and collared projections to apex. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Paulsen, P., Schwertortbänder der Wikingerzeit, Stuttgart, 1953, in relation to the trading centre on the island of Birka, eastern Sweden; see also Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson for the significance of the falcon motif to the society of Birka, particularly with regard to the development of a 'princely family' and its heraldic display, in Rus', Varangians and Birka Warriors (2002).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1421
Viking Age Bronze Birka Falcon Type Sword Scabbard Chape
Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
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Viking Age Bronze Strap Loop
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Trefoil lobe with incised segment detailing and two holes to accept rivets. 7.94 grams, 35 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Pre-Viking Gold Filigree Aroma Bucket Pendant
4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Cup-shaped in sheet gold with applied filigree detailing and granule clusters. 1.19 grams, 13 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Pendants in the form of miniature buckets have been found in a number of pagan Anglo-Saxon and Viking contexts and are generally made of bronze or iron, with gold examples being rare; three gold examples were found with the hoard from Hoen, Norway. Bronze bucket amulets have been found at Driffield in Yorkshire, and Vimose bog in Denmark, among other places. In form they represent wooden buckets bound with bronze or iron bands which have been found in Anglo-Saxon and Viking graves and are believed to have held mead or ale and were used to replenish the cups from which warriors drank. As amulets they probably represent the ecstatic power of alcoholic drink and the role of women as the dispensers of these precious beverages. -
Viking Age Bronze Bracelet Group
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Most of penannular form with decorative elements, including pierced terminals, expanded panels, faux-twisting and zoomorphic terminals. 120 grams total, 41-79 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a Ruislip, UK, gentleman, by inheritance.
