Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0363

Viking Age Bronze Borre Style Tortoise Brooch Set

10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.

22 1/2 in. (310 grams total, 57 cm total long).

Comprising: two elliptical bronze tortoise brooches, each domed with raised ornament of four Borre-style faces with pellet eyes to the centre of a panel of body parts and hatching with two more faces to the narrow ends, wide flange, catchplate, pin-hinge and pendant attachment bar to the reverse; two suspension links, each an omega-shaped loop with lateral coiled ends and ring above; three swags of graduated beads (restrung) - upper: pale blue glass oblate beads, crystal annular beads, melon beads; middle: deep blue and dark green glass and lapis lazuli polyhedral and annular beads; lower: oblate and polyhedral amber and glass beads.

Provenance

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Literature

For similar brooches see Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pls.58ff. and in particular 62-63, 67; see also Graham-Campbell, J. & Kidd, D., The Vikings, London, 1980, figs.52-53, for similar brooches from Norway.

Footnotes

The most characteristic items of Viking period women's jewellery are oval brooch pairs, called 'tortoise brooches' in the literature. As in this example, the brooches themselves were usually connected by swags of coloured beads or by chains supporting tools such as tweezers or a small knife, as well as amulets.

CONDITION

VETTING:

TimeLine 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:

TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.

LOT 0363

Viking Age Bronze Borre Style Tortoise Brooch Set

Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • The Holt Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Borre Brooch
    'The Holt' Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Borre Brooch
    11th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £910

    With low-relief Borre style looped tendrils motif, lug and catch to the reverse. 10.4 grams, 29 mm



    Found near Holt, Norfolk, UK. From an old private collection of Norfolk, UK, gentleman, formed since 1998.

    Lot Details

  • Viking Age Silver Double Axehead Pendant
    Viking Age Silver Double Axehead Pendant
    Circa 8th-11th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £169

    Twibil pendant with flared blades and central elliptical shaft-hole. 6.68 grams, 43 mm



    Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.

    Lot Details

  • Viking Age Gold Elf Shot Pendant
    Viking Age Gold 'Elf Shot' Pendant
    9th-11th century A.D. or earlier

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £650

    Sheet gold sleeve and wire dangle, crystal lobed bead mounted in the socket. 0.83 grams, 23 mm



    Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s.

    This amulet was believed to offer protection against 'Elfshot'. The attack of elves was believed responsible for mysterious suffering in men and livestock: sudden shooting pains localised to a particular area of the body, such as in rheumatism, arthritis or muscle stitches or cramps. Elves were thought to shoot darts or arrows where such pains had no obvious external cause. Belief in elfshot persisted into the 20th century in rural areas, and as proof country folk would sometimes find small arrowheads (the remains of Neolithic or Mesolithic flints, or naturally-occurring spear-shaped stones) that were believed to be the magical weapons that caused the afflictions. Belief in elfshot began in the Pagan Germanic period.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list