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LOT 1652
Viking Age Gold Elfshot Pendant
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
1 1/8 in. (3.41 grams, 27 mm).
Comprising a D-shaped gold cap with integral loop above, inset knapped flint blade.
ProvenanceAcquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This 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.
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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Scandinavian Viking 'Hoard' of Hacked Silver Jewellery and Coins
9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
An assembled collection of silver items including: hacked ingot fragments; complete and cut dirhem coins; one end of an ansate brooch with applied figure; braided wire shank; looped end of a drop handle and other items. 158 grams total, 6.5-63 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Viking Age Silver 'Currency' Ingot
Circa 9th-11th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £143
A hacked irregular hammered silver ingot, probably melted down loot creating a monetised piece of 'Hack' for Viking trade; X-ray Fluorescence analysis provides the following results: Ag (91.7%), Cu (4.09%), Fe (3.69%), Zn (0.19%), Au (0.19%), Pb (0.13%). 32 grams, 30 mm
Ex property of a UK gallery, early 2000s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Ingots of gold and silver were regularly produced in the Early Medieval period when trade took place between monetised economies (Anglo-Saxon England, Francia, Frisia) and their non-monetised neighbours in southern Scandinavia (Blackburn, 2011). Ingots were a convenient means of storing wealth which could be converted into display items (weapon fittings, clothing fasteners, tableware) or used to gild silver and bronze items (Hårdh, 1996). -
Viking Bronze Pendant with Decorated Dragon
Early 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Comprising a S-shaped hollow bar with inlaid silverstrips and ring-and-dot motifs, cluster of trapezoidal dangles to head and tail. 34.3 grams, 15.5 cm
Acquired on the London art market, 1990s. Private collection, London. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
