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LOT 1826
Viking Age Bronze Fire Steel with Goat
10TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 in. (41 grams, 54 mm).
A bifacial bronze firesteel with iron striking blade, formed as a regardant goat biting its tail; Finno-Ugric type.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, plate LXX, item 19, for type.
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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Viking Silver Fish Pendant
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Fabricated sheet-silver in the form of a fish with forked tail, band of volute scrolls to the spine; separate plate to the underside. 5.27 grams, 56 mm
Property of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Viking Bronze Eagle Mount
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Modelled with splayed wings and head turned; attachment spikes to reverse. 4.77 grams, 23 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of Surrey, UK, gentleman. From the private collection of a Kent, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Viking Age Silver Cross Pendant with Head of a Beast
11th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
In Romanesque style, cruciform with openwork cross at centre, three oval terminals and a fourth modelled as a hound's head, the beast's mouth forming the suspension loop. 7.88 grams, 40 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of an East Anglian private collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The original function of this rare and unusual pendant remains elusive. The use of expensive materials and the fine and detailed casting indicate that it would have been a highly prized object. The fusion of Christian and pagan religious motifs is typical of Iceland where the worship of the old gods continued into the 11th century. The Christian cross was used as a symbol of the new faith but the pendant also includes elements of pre-Christian motifs. Comparable objects appeared in an exhibition of English Romanesque Art 1066-1200, held at the Hayward Gallery, London, 5 April - 8 July 1984. The catalogue for this exhibition illustrates numerous small metal and gilded articles with similar grotesque terminals- No. 254 illustrated a late 12th century finial from a shrine, which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M.25 1962).
