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LOT 1623
Viking Age Gold Axe-Shaped Pendant
CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
1/8 in. (0.09 grams, 7 mm).
Sheet gold with integral loop, pelta-shaped blade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Twisted Bronze Bracelet
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Penannular in form with tightly twisted central band, flat finials each with incised hatching. 30 grams, 59 mm
Private European collection formed before 2000. UK art market. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Viking Age Twisted Bronze Bracelet
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Penannular with twisted twisted rod shank, returned loop finials. 70 grams, 66 mm
Private European collection formed before 2000. UK art market. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Pre Viking Scandinavian Gold Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Tubular body with domed base and filigree handle; applied bands of filigree and braided wire to sidewall and base. 1.43 grams, 14 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.
