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LOT 0326
Viking Age Bronze Tortoise Brooch with Ravens
9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/8 in. (62.6 grams, 80 mm).
With domed elliptical body and narrow flange, high-relief palmette ornament and omega-shaped panels and opposed ravens with curved beaks.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Nerman, B., Die Vendelzeit Gotlands, Stockholm, 1969, pl.VII:5, item 271; cf. Hildebrand, H., Kongl. Vitterhets Historie Och Antiqvitets Akademiens Manadsblad, Stockholm, 1876, fig.82; Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Graber, Uppsala, 1940, fig.151.
FootnotesThe silvery appearance of the brooch is probably due to a high proportion of tin in the bronze alloy.
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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Pre-Viking Silver Filigree Bucket Pendant
4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Formed as a bell-shaped container with granule detailing. 1.35 grams, 17 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
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 amulet,s they probably represent the ecstatic power of alcoholic drink and the role of women as the dispensers of these precious beverages. -
Viking Age Decorated Bronze Bracelet
Circa 900-1100 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Penannular type with flat-section body and stamped and incised decoration to the outer face. 17.14 grams, 62 mm
From a UK private collection. Ex Apollo Art Auction, 13 November 2022, no.459. -
Viking Silver Pendant with Expanding Cross
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £250 - 350 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £125
Executed in repoussé technique, a dome to each arm likely representing the Five Wounds of Christ, together with punched annulets and other details. 6.56 grams, 51 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
