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LOT 1629
Viking Age Iron Bearded Axehead
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
6 1/8 in. (659 grams, 15.5 cm).
With triangular section narrow blade widening to a curved bevelled edge with square chin and rear spur, D-section socket. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.14, item 3.
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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Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Stirrup Apex Mount
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Pentagonal mount with central hole, vestigial ledge to the reverse, low-relief addorsed dragon-head motif; apex lobe absent; Williams's Class A Type 1. 21 grams, 47 mm
Found Wiltshire, UK, 2010. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Skeletal Stirrup Apex Mount
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £351
A well-defined Williams's Class A Type 6 mount comprising a D-shaped plaque with high-relief central tree or skeleton, a serpent to each lateral edge with divided tail coiled over the 'tree's' trefoil finial, head at the tree's base; beast-head finial with loop above; shallow ledge to the reverse, two circular piercings above. 31.4 grams, 50 mm
Found Kings Lynn, Norfolk, UK. From an East Anglian private collection. -
Viking Period Gold 'Elf Shot' Pendant
9th-11th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £715
Gold cup with hoop and suspension loop, with glass insert. 1.37 grams, 17 mm
Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s.
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.
