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LOT 1393
Viking Age Bronze Pendant with Interlace
11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (2.32 grams, 25 mm).
With pierced lug above, pelletted border with geometric design of four pelletted loops and central boss. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1990s.
Ex property of a German collector.
Cf. Korshyn, V.E., Yazicheskiye Priveski Drevniye Rysi X-XIV Vekov, Moscow, 2013, item K.6.04.
FootnotesIn terms of material culture, it is impossible not to note the influence that the Scandinavians had on Rus at that time. Evidence of this, in particular, is a number of pendants from the main centres of Rus. It is curious that the composition of volute-shaped scrolls was widely popular among the Slavic environment of the 11th-mid-12th century. A similar pendant made of tin-lead alloy was found in Gochevo, Kursk region.
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Viking Age Bronze Artefact Collection
6th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Comprising a late Roman piriform strap reinforcer; an openwork zoomorphic mount; a rectangular mount with bird head and chased ornament below. 15.1 grams total, 32-40 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Viking Age Bronze Pendant with Cross and Flower
9th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
The discoid body displaying a cross to one face and a stylised flowerhead to the other; suspension loop and ring to the top edge. 3.27 grams, 31 mm
Private collection formed 1960s-1980s. Ex private Merseyside, UK, collection. -
Viking Age Bronze Contorted Gripping Beast Pendant
Late 10th-early 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Scandinavian pendant of Norelund type with integral suspension loop; the openwork plaque with three-band border and four panels, internal stylised zoomorph with hatched panel to the hip, gripping hands to the body and border, facing mask below the loop. 6.22 grams, 34 mm
Acquired on the German art market before 2000. From an old Munich collection.
There is a class of discoid pendants with banded borders and contorted figures found in the hinterland of the Baltic region, associated with the influence of Scandinavian settlers. The design of these items recalls specific elements of Scandinavian art - for example, the 'gripping hands' motif is a feature of the Oseberg Style named after the famous Norwegian ship-burial. Oseberg Style is associated with the beginnings of the Viking age, and was current in the 9th century when Scandinavian settlers began to establish centres of trade and political control in the area of the rivers Dnieper and Volga. The motif has been interpreted as a horse and linked with various legends and mythic figures, including Sigurð's fight with the dragon Fafnir.
