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LOT 0357
Viking Age Bronze Sword Scabbard Chape Collection
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/8 - 3 in. (158 grams total, 59-75 mm).
Comprising: two examples of a long and narrow tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe V 2A, Untergruppe C) with scooped upper edge and palmette motif to the centre, a vertical band of reserved stylised ring-chain decoration on a pounced field, long lateral straps and a knop finial (one with an upper arm absent); a subtriangular type (Paulsen's Gruppe I 2, Untergruppe C) with central openwork panel displaying a bird in flight with the fan-shaped tail marked with radiating lines, trilinear bands to the outer sides, upper edges angled and with a lozengiform 'knot' at the apex; a long and rounded tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe I 1) with an openwork centre and Ringerike Style bird formed with looped bands, pellets to the pinions, a triangular in plan head joined to the inner faces of the ropework border forming the upper edge of the chape, with a wolf's head at the apex and stepped knop finial (one face damaged); a single plate from a chape of the same type (Gruppe I 1) with a rounded lower edge and the apex absent. [5]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Paulsen, P., Schwertortbänder der Wikingerzeit, Stuttgart, 1953, items 6, 23, 167, 178.
FootnotesThe slender, tongue-shaped elongated form (Gruppe V2A, Untergruppe C) is regarded by Paulsen (p.118) as Latvian in origin ("Lettland") and 11th century in date. The broader openwork form (Gruppe I 2, Untergruppe C) is associated with the Baltic island of Gotland, which was a major entrepot in the trade network connecting Sweden with the eastern Baltic and the riverine passage south to the Mediterranean; a 10th century date is preferred for this type. The long openwork form (Gruppe I 1) is Scandinavian in origin and appears first in the 10th century; Paulsen's figure 6 from Oland, Sweden, is a close match to the complete example included here.
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Viking Age Plundered Gold Abbasid Dinar Coin Pendant
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Formed from an Abbasid caliphate dinar coin with ribbed suspension loop above. 4.36 grams, 25 mm
Acquired 1970s. From a London, UK, collection. -
Viking Age Bronze Openwork Strap End Group
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
One bifacial tongue-shaped strap end with openwork scheme and punched ring-and-dot motifs; one composed of an openwork interlaced vegetal design. 23 grams total, 39-44 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Pre Viking Silver Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Decorated with filigree bands of overlapping semi-circular motifs to the sidewall; slender handle with plaited decoration. 1.71 grams, 19 mm high
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.
