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LOT 1567
Viking Age Bronze Cross Pendant
CIRCA 10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
2 7/8 in. (27.2 grams, 73 mm).
Flat-section cruciform plaque with tong-and-dot detailing to obverse, barrel-shaped Byzantine-style suspension loop.
ProvenanceAcquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s.
From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Silver Shield-Maiden Pendant
Circa 9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,690
A female in floor-length robe holding a shield in her right hand and drawn knife in her left, stylised headdress and long plaited band of hair to the rear; pierced lug to the reverse. 8.08 grams, 40.68 mm
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. Ex property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman.
This pendant resembles a find from Galgebakke, Denmark, a silver figure holding a short sword and clutching a shield by the boss (Vang Petersen, item 4). The Galgebakke figure is identified as female on the basis of the elaborate crested hairstyle, and an ankle-length dress with tiny feet beneath. The interpretation usually offered for this figure is that of a skjoldmø or 'shield-maiden', a female who takes up arms in pursuit of vengeance such as the legendary Hervor in Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks. Scholars used to interpret these armed females as valkyries - hand maidens of the god Oðinn - but the idea has been challenged recently (Gardeła, 2013). -
Viking Age Decorated Silver Bracelet
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
C-shaped in section with square butts, bands of punched linear, crescent and pellet ornament. 81 grams, 76 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. -
Viking Age Bronze Twisted Bracelet
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Penannular in form with tightly twisted central band, pointed finials. 80 grams, 76 mm
From a London collection; acquired on the UK and European art markets before 2001.
