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LOT 1599
Viking Age Gold 'Elf Shot' Pendant
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
5/8 in. (0.55 grams, 16 mm).
Gold cup with hoop and suspension loop, aqua glass insert.
ProvenanceFrom a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.
FootnotesThis amulet was believed to offer protection against 'Elfshot'. The attack of elves was believed responsible for mysterious suffering in men and livestock: sudden shooting pains localised to a particular area of the body, such as in rheumatism, arthritis or muscle stitches or cramps. Elves were thought to shoot darts or arrows where such pains had no obvious external cause. Belief in elfshot persisted into the 20th century in rural areas, and as proof country folk would sometimes find small arrowheads (the remains of Neolithic or Mesolithic flints, or naturally-occurring spear-shaped stones) that were believed to be the magical weapons that caused the afflictions. Belief in elfshot began in the Pagan Germanic period.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Scandinavian Silver Lunar Pendant Necklace
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
Restrung necklace of silver biconical and melon beads with pendant domed discs and crescents, all with granule detailing. 64 grams, 45 cm long
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12072-212328. -
Viking Age Scandinavian Silver Filigree Tau Cross Pendant
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
With scooped outline to the body, transverse suspension bar; applied filigree and granule detailing, large 'eyes' flanking the median panel with looped interlace detailing; cleaned and polished. 7.5 grams, 39 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12070-212342.
This piece bears many similarities to a hoard found on the island of Hiddensee in the Baltic Sea. The hoard consisted of a classic Borre-style disc brooch, a neck ring of four twisted rods and a necklace of ten stylised cruciform pendants, such as this example. The items constitute a single set of jewellery and seem to be a gift from a Danish nobleman intended for presentation to a Slav woman of high standing. They were buried for safety en route during some local emergency that resulted in the items not being claimed. Evidence for the production of pendants in the Hiddensee style is provided by the remarkable find of forty-one bronze dies, as used for the manufacture of the pressed sheets onto which the filigree wires and granules were soldered. These dies were kept together in a leather bag, which had been dropped in the harbour at Hedeby. -
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.
