Viking Age Bronze Odin with Ravens Fire Striker

Flat in section with spread wings and talons to the lower body, feather detailing to tail and wings; male mask above, flanked by profile bird-heads at the pinions; loop to reverse; Samoyed type. 18.58 grams, 66.13 mm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13290-253202.

The pendant likely represents the soul of the shaman in bird form on a spirit journey.

Square in plan with hollow body, repoussé motif of a tree with flanking birds at the sides and serpents below; integral suspension loop. 19.42 grams, 44.78 mm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Miniature drum-shaped vessel covered in filigree bobbles with strap handle. 0.78 grams, 13.52 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.