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LOT 1603
Viking Age Iron Axe-Hammer
CIRCA 11TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
7 3/4 in. (324 grams, 19.5 cm).
With a broad curved blade, narrow neck and hammer extension to the rear; round socket. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a Californian, USA, gentleman, dating back to the late 1960s.
LiteratureCf. Sedov, B.B. Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, plate LII, item 15.
FootnotesThe more common weapons of Finno-Ugrian people were axes commonly found from all Finnic areas, as well as spears. Among Baltic-Finnic people, especially in Finland and Karelia, knives called 'puukko' were common, as well as axes, spears, flat bows and long bows, while swords were usually imported from Germanic areas, Sweden or from elsewhere Scandinavia, some having often typically Scandinavian animal ornaments, although there are some Finnish made finds too.
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Pre Viking Scandinavian Silver Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, beaded wire bands to top and bottom of sidewall, filigree loop ornament. 2.02 grams, 18 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. -
Viking Age Scandinavian Silver Filigree Pendant
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Discoid plate with integral suspension loop secured at the reverse, symmetrical design of applied silver filigree and clusters of granules. 3.12 grams, 30 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. -
Viking Age Iron Beaded Axehead
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
With triangular-section narrow blade widening to a broad bevelled edge with square chin, socket with lateral flanges. 681 grams, 18.5 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
