Details

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.

Provenance

Acquired on the German art market before 2000.
From an old Munich collection.

Literature

Cf. Korshyn, V.E., Yazicheskiye Priveski Drevniye Rusi X-XIV Vekov, Moscow, 2013, items K.1.02-04.

Footnotes

There 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.