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LOT 1637
Viking Age Iron Socketted Bearded Axehead
CIRCA 10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
6 7/8 in. (788 grams, 17.5 cm).
With slender ridged blade and chin to the lower edge, round socket with rectangular flanges, flattened rear edge; professionally cleaned, conserved, and restored. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the family collection of a South East London collector; formerly acquired in the late 1950s.
LiteratureCf. Hjardar, K. & Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, p.163Y, for typology, and p.164, for discussion.
FootnotesThe type appears to be related to the Y-type of Viking axes. Slavic battle-axes also came into use in Scandinavia, especially in the eastern part of Gotland, Sweden and Denmark. The old Norse word Taparöx probably come from Topor, the Slavic word for axe. Eastern axes are also characterised by an almost completely round hole for the shaft.
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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Large Viking Silver Interlaced Chain with Amuletic Rock Crystal Pendant
10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7,475
Comprising: openwork trichinopoly chain with sleeve terminals each with a loop and bar closure; spherical rock crystal pendant with silver wire cage and mounting cap. 367 grams, 120 cm
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Viking Bronze Howling Beast Mount
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Formed as an openwork seated wolf with long curled tail, head raised and mouth open; similar to Class A, Type 11A. 10.6 grams, 33 mm
Found near Norwich, Norfolk, UK. -
Viking Age Bronze Sword Scabbard Chape Collection
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Comprising: a long and narrow tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe V 2A, Untergruppe C) with scooped upper edge and palmette motif to the centre, spurs to the a vertical band of reserved stylised ring-chain decoration on a pounced field, long lateral straps and a knop finial; a heater-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe I 2, Untergruppe C) with central openwork panel displaying a bird in flight with the fan-shaped tail marked with radiating lines, guilloche bands to the outer sides, upper edges angled and with lobe at the apex; an elongated type (Gruppe V 1) with low-relief pointillé bands to each face and a palmette at the apex of the central spur; a long tongue-shaped type (Paulsen's Gruppe I 1) with an openwork centre and Ringerike Style bird formed with looped bands, pellets to the pinions, a triangular in plan head joined to the inner faces of the ropework border forming the upper edge of the chape, with a wolf's head at the apex and stepped knop finial; a single plaque (Gruppe V 1) from a two-part chape, long and rounded with palmate detailing to the upper edge, tendrils and scrolls to the body, pierced in two places to accept rivets. 178 grams total, 51-70 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Most of these chapes originate in Sweden or the western Baltic according to Paulsen's classification.
