Viking Age Iron Knife with Decoration

Comprising: two dome-headed dress pins; three pieces of hack-silver ingot; five miniature axeheads; a mitre-shaped finger ring; and other items. 42.8 grams total, 9-53 mm



Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.

Comprising: two elliptical bronze tortoise brooches, each domed with raised ornament of four Borre-style faces with pellet eyes to the centre of a panel of body parts and hatching with two more faces to the narrow ends, wide flange, catchplate, pin-hinge and pendant attachment bar to the reverse; two suspension links, each an omega-shaped loop with lateral coiled ends and ring above; three swags of graduated beads (restrung) - upper: pale blue glass oblate beads, crystal annular beads, melon beads; middle: deep blue and dark green glass and lapis lazuli polyhedral and annular beads; lower: oblate and polyhedral amber and glass beads. 310 grams total, 57 cm total long



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

The most characteristic items of Viking period women's jewellery are oval brooch pairs, called 'tortoise brooches' in the literature. As in this example, the brooches themselves were usually connected by swags of coloured beads or by chains supporting tools such as tweezers or a small knife, as well as amulets.

A spectacular Sogdian sheet-silver bucket with drum-shaped body, narrow discoid repoussé base, bands of repoussé foliage to the body beneath a raised collar and fluted neck and rim; handle held by two securing hoops formed as miniature rams. 1.2 kg, 26.5 cm wide



From an old private collection. with Oxus Fine Arts Pte. Ltd, Singapore. Acquired by the current owner in London, 2012. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12288-220840.

Dr. Grigoriev, in his studies on Sogdian silver artworks, has traced specific Sogdian features of metalwork prototypes on the basis of the ceramic replicas. Some of these features were distinguished on gold and silver vessels which possess many other characteristics bringing them together. In our bucket, the style and the decoration of the flowers resemble those of the bucket with deer from Shirokovskoe (Perm, see Marshak, 1971, T,35), while the bands of repoussé foliage to the body beneath the raised collar and fluted neck and rim recall the decoration of the dish with deer from Rep’evka, in Samara Province (Darkevich, 1976, n.12).