Viking Age Bronze Plaited Bracelet

Miniature drum-shaped vessel covered in filigree bobbles with strap handle. 0.72 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.

Flat-section crescentic body with low-relief chevron decoration and integral suspension loop. 2.33 grams, 28 mm



UK gallery, early 2000s.

Profile image of a female in floor-length robe with mantle to the shoulders, stylised headdress and long band of plaited hair to the rear edge; pierced lug to the reverse. 5.2 grams, 33 mm



Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.