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LOT 1246
Viking Age Bronze Facing Mask Strap Fitting
11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (9.19 grams, 36 mm).
Comprising a plaque with two lateral arms, pierced for attachment, and two loops below secured with rivets; the arms with notched and lobed edges, the plaque with central motif of a bearded face with lobes to the temples, pellet eyes, modelled in the half-round. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market before 2000.
From an old Munich collection.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1246
Viking Age Bronze Facing Mask Strap Fitting
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Viking Age Bronze Faux Twisted Beast Bracelet
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Of penannular form with lentoid-section body and opposed beast head terminals. 61 grams, 66 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Large Viking Age Silver Pendant with Beast Facing Back
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,210
With complex beast left, facing back to the right, gripping a tendril, within a double rope border with filigree annulets in the field; suspension loop to the apex, decorated with filigree pellets within annulets. 7.57 grams, 49 mm high
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. -
Viking Age Bronze Sword Scabbard Chape Collection
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £585
Comprising: two examples of a long and narrow tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe V 2A, Untergruppe C) with scooped upper edge and palmette motif to the centre, a vertical band of reserved stylised ring-chain decoration on a pounced field, long lateral straps and a knop finial (one with an upper arm absent); a subtriangular 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, trilinear bands to the outer sides, upper edges angled and with a lozengiform 'knot' at the apex; a long and rounded 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 (one face damaged); a single plate from a chape of the same type (Gruppe I 1) with a rounded lower edge and the apex absent. 158 grams total, 59-75 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
The slender, tongue-shaped elongated form (Gruppe V2A, Untergruppe C) is regarded by Paulsen (p.118) as Latvian in origin ("Lettland") and 11th century in date. The broader openwork form (Gruppe I 2, Untergruppe C) is associated with the Baltic island of Gotland, which was a major entrepot in the trade network connecting Sweden with the eastern Baltic and the riverine passage south to the Mediterranean; a 10th century date is preferred for this type. The long openwork form (Gruppe I 1) is Scandinavian in origin and appears first in the 10th century; Paulsen's figure 6 from Oland, Sweden, is a close match to the complete example included here.
