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LOT 1699
Viking Age Bronze Tortoise-Type Brooch Group
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
3 - 3 1/8 in. (140 grams total, 77-80 mm).
Comprising three shallow-domed plate brooches each with low-relief zoomorphic ornament and a narrow ledged rim; to the reverse, a small catch and T-shaped pin-lug; one with textile remains in situ. [3]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
PublishedExhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 27th August-10th December 2025; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
LiteratureCf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.61.
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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LOT 1699
Viking Age Bronze Tortoise-Type Brooch Group
Estimate £1,000 - 1,400€1,160 - 1,620 (for guidance only)$1,350 - 1,890 (for guidance only)
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Pre-Viking Silver Filigree Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, extensive filigree decoration on the body. 2.77 grams, 21 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. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Five-Lobed Pommel
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Of Petersen's Type S (Wheeler Type III) with five graduated lobes; hollow, the lower face a swept arc; pierced through the tallest lobe to accept the tang of the sword's blade. 48.7 grams, 50 mm
Found Norfolk, UK. -
Viking Silver Pendants with Raven's Heads
Circa 10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
Openwork pendant formed as four addorsed bird-heads; applied strap. 4.69 grams, 21 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
