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LOT 1058
Viking Age Bronze Dagger Hilt with Scabbard
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
9 1/2 in. (119 grams, 24 cm).
The scabbard with bronze hoop reinforcements to the upper third decorated with bands of punched holes; lateral suspension flap between bronze plates with reserved interlace motifs on hatched field; hilt with Borre Style ring-chain motifs to the upper end; hollow to the upper face. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.6.
CONDITIONTimeLine 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:
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Medieval Iron Anti-Cavalry Caltrop Group
13th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Comprising eight caltrops, hand-forged with square-section spikes. 250 grams total, 79-84 mm
Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
Caltrops were scattered on battlefields in an effort to stop or slow advancing enemy cavalry or foot soldiers; regardless of how a caltrop lands, one spike is always facing upwards. -
Early Iron Age 'Griffzungenschwert' Sword
10th-9th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Of Naue II Type, with broad flattened midrib to both faces of the iron blade, the blade gently broadening below the tip, serrated edges at the base, flanged rivetted guard and hilt for the insertion of the organic handle and rhomboid-section grip. 245 grams, 43.5 cm
Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
The Naue II, also known as the grip-tongue sword, was one of the longest lasting of all sword types. First appearing in the late Bronze Age it lasted well into the Iron Age, a span of 500-700 years, and it was made both in bronze and iron. As early as 1450 B.C., in northern Italy, smiths came up with an early type of a sword now known as the Naue II. It spread first into central Europe, Scandinavia and the British Isles. By 1200 B.C. it had spread to Greece, Crete, the Aegean Islands, the Levant, Palestine and Egypt. It was quite popular in Greece and the Aegean, but it is in Central Europe that the greatest number has been found. In all these areas it was the standard sword until the 7th century B.C. with iron replacing bronze, but still the same basic design. -
Khazar Silver-Gilt Sword Belt Hanger
7th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £140
Formed as leaves or a flower bud with volutes emerging from a rectangular frame at the upper end, also with volutes, integral loop above; two mounting lugs to the reverse. 6.03 grams, 27 mm
Fine condition.
Acquired in the 1980s-1990s. Ex an important central London gallery, London W1.
In the development of the Seversky Donets basin, together with the Alans and other bearers of the cremation rite, archaeology confirms the presence of tribes who practiced inhumation funeral rite with the eastern orientation of the dead (Netailovsky ground burial). Elements of belt sets, typical for this period, were found in these graves. Elements of the belt set similar to those found in the burials of the Netailovsky burial ground mainly come from the so-called ‘under-barrow burials with ditches’ of the 7th - first half of the 8th centuries, identified with the Khazars proper. Floral decoration of the belt elements, like this one, can be regarded as evidence of intensive contacts between the Khazars and Byzantium.
