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LOT 1707
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.
ProvenanceAcquired on the German art market before 2000.
From an old Munich collection.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Stamped Bronze Bracelet Pair
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Each a penannular square-section shank with punched detailing to the upper faces. 103 grams total, 75-79 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Pre-Viking Gold Filigree Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, the body decorated with granule clusters. 1.49 grams, 15 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.
Pendants in the form of miniature buckets have been found in a number of pagan Anglo-Saxon and Viking contexts and are generally made of bronze or iron, with gold examples being rare; three gold examples were found with the hoard from Hoen, Norway. Bronze bucket amulets have been found at Driffield in Yorkshire, and Vimose bog in Denmark, among other places. In form they represent wooden buckets bound with bronze or iron bands which have been found in Anglo-Saxon and Viking graves and are believed to have held mead or ale and were used to replenish the cups from which warriors drank. As amulets they probably represent the ecstatic power of alcoholic drink and the role of women as the dispensers of these precious beverages. -
Viking Bronze Bracelet with Bear's Head Terminals
8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Flat-section with low-relief reserved zigzag and longitudinal bands, each end with a bear's head and forepaws in plan. 88.7 grams, 69 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
