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LOT 1657
Viking Age Bronze Tortoise Brooch
CIRCA 10TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/8 in. (67.4 grams, 81 mm).
Displaying high-relief palmette ornament, omega-shaped panels and other ornament; catch and two transverse bars to the reverse.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Hildebrand, H., Kongl. Vitterhets Historie Och Antiqvitets Akademiens Manadsblad, Stockholm, 1876, fig.82; Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Graber, Uppsala, 1940, fig.151.
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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Viking Age Bronze Tortoise Brooch with Ravens
9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £702
With domed elliptical body and narrow flange, high-relief palmette ornament and omega-shaped panels and opposed ravens with curved beaks. 62.6 grams, 80 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
The silvery appearance of the brooch is probably due to a high proportion of tin in the bronze alloy. -
Viking Bronze Penannular Brooch with Dragon Heads
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Featuring returned dragon-head terminals and braided shank, punched decoration to the free-running pin head. 24.3 grams, 57 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Mount with Pseudo-Runes
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Williams's Class A Type 1 with trapezoidal plaque and narrow ledge to the rear; incised geometric design following the outline of the mount with symmetrical panels; to the neck five vertical lines, perhaps pseudo-runes. 19.88 grams, 50 mm
Property of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s.
The markings on the neck appear to conform to the shapes of four runes, being inverted chevrons to the edges (runic 'U'), a character of two verticals and a sloping cross-bar (runic 'H'), and a simple vertical stroke (runic 'I'). However, the outer chevrons are formed as the junction of the inner border with a vertical while the cross-bar appears to be a later abrasion. The form of 'H' with a single cross-bar is very early (2nd -5th century AD) and is almost unknown in England, while by the 8th century this form had been replaced in Scandinavia by a rune formed as a vertical with a small saltire to the centre (like an asterisk). It is nevertheless possible that these marks were intended as a form of pseudo-runic text.
