Viking Age Bronze Faux Twisted Ring

Formed as a crouching beast modelled in the round with hollow slot to the underside; elongated head with raised lentoid eyes and ellipsoid ears, ribbed wings to the shoulders, knop tail and splayed claws to the feet; mouth open with detailed fangs. 84.9 grams, 66 mm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 200289.

The navigation techniques in use in Iron Age Northern Europe were very sophisticated, as would be expected from people bordering the Baltic, North Sea and North Atlantic where boat- and ship-building traditions have been perfected over more than a thousand years. A carved wooden panel from Bergen, Norway, shows a number of Viking longships at sea, some with weathervanes mounted on the stempost. They are mounted vertically with the beast on the outer end. Gilded bronze weathervanes appear on the roofs of medieval churches in Sweden, Norway and Finland where they are often regarded as ornamental: symbols of access to resources and craftsmanship for the important families who endowed such buildings. These weathervanes in many cases originally adorned ships and were used as part of the navigational equipment. They may have inspired the medieval Norman custom of attaching a gilded weathervane or cock to church roofs, which eventually spread to secular buildings such as castles in France and Italy where their use was restricted to certain ranks of nobility (Lindgrén, 1983).

Each composed of a domed ovoid body with chased lozenges and geometric motifs, five projecting studs in cruciform arrangement; remains of pin lug and catchplate to reverse. 141 grams total, 71 mm each



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.

These brooches are usually found on the breast of Viking women in grave excavations. Two oval brooches on the upper chest represent the pinafore dress worn by the Viking women, decorated with zoomorphic or geometric ornaments.

Hollow-formed, displaying a stylised beast head in relief; pierced through one terminal for suspension and with a flattened suspension loop to reverse. 0.28 grams, 14 mm



Acquired 1970-2010. Collection of a late Japanese gentleman.