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LOT 1530
Viking Age Bronze Contorted Gripping Beast Pendant
LATE 10TH-EARLY 11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (6.22 grams, 34 mm).
Scandinavian pendant of Norelund type with integral suspension loop; the openwork plaque with three-band border and four panels, internal stylised zoomorph with hatched panel to the hip, gripping hands to the body and border, facing mask below the loop.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market before 2000.
From an old Munich collection.
Cf. Korshyn, V.E., Yazicheskiye Priveski Drevniye Rusi X-XIV Vekov, Moscow, 2013, items K.1.02-04.
FootnotesThere is a class of discoid pendants with banded borders and contorted figures found in the hinterland of the Baltic region, associated with the influence of Scandinavian settlers. The design of these items recalls specific elements of Scandinavian art - for example, the 'gripping hands' motif is a feature of the Oseberg Style named after the famous Norwegian ship-burial. Oseberg Style is associated with the beginnings of the Viking age, and was current in the 9th century when Scandinavian settlers began to establish centres of trade and political control in the area of the rivers Dnieper and Volga. The motif has been interpreted as a horse and linked with various legends and mythic figures, including Sigurð's fight with the dragon Fafnir.
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Viking Age Bronze Pendant
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With openwork lunate design decorated in low relief pellets; integral suspension loop. 1.87 grams, 22 mm
Acquired on the German art market before 2000. From an old Munich collection. -
Viking Age Bronze Sword Scabbard Chape Collection
10th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £700 - 900 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £350
Comprising: a long and narrow tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe V 2A, Untergruppe C) with scooped upper edge and palmette motif to the centre, spurs to the a vertical band of reserved stylised ring-chain decoration on a pounced field, long lateral straps and a knop finial; a heater-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe I 2, Untergruppe C) with central openwork panel displaying a bird in flight with the fan-shaped tail marked with radiating lines, guilloche bands to the outer sides, upper edges angled and with lobe at the apex; an elongated type (Gruppe V 1) with low-relief pointillé bands to each face and a palmette at the apex of the central spur; a long tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe I 1) with an openwork centre and Ringerike Style bird formed with looped bands, pellets to the pinions, a triangular in plan head joined to the inner faces of the ropework border forming the upper edge of the chape, with a wolf's head at the apex and stepped knop finial; a single plaque (Gruppe V 1) from a two-part chape, long and rounded with palemete detailing to the upper edge, tendrils and scrolls to the body, pierced in two places to accept rivets. 178 grams total, 51-70 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Most of these chapes originate in Sweden or the western Baltic according to Paulsen's classification. -
Viking Age Gold Twisted Bracelet
9th-11th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £6,500
Comprising a tapering hoop with braided rods to the central section, plain finials coiled around the shank forming collars. 64.4 grams, 88 mm wide
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11882-200711.
