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LOT 0263
Viking Age Iron Sword with Five-Lobed Pommel
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
34 1/2 in. (1.3 kg, 87.5 cm).
Of Petersen Type S variant with a double-edged blade, shallow fullers and a rounded point; boat-shaped upper and lower guard with some remains of silver inlay, the pommel also showing traces of silver decoration.
ProvenanceAcquired 1971-1972.
From the collection of the vendor's father.
Property of a London, UK, collector.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11756 - 202774.
Cf. Hjardar, K. & Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, p.169, for the type; the sword finds good parallels in various similar Viking age specimens, like the sword from Mixnam’s pit, Chertsey, today at the Chertsey Museum (Peirce, 2002, pp.98ff.).
FootnotesViking swords of Type S are commonly found in Nordic countries and in Eastern Europe, with only a small number found in Western Europe. The type was often characterised by splendid decoration achieved with silver and copper inlays, of which here some traces are still visible.
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Featuring a leaf-shaped double-edged iron blade, shallow fullers tapering to a point, short straight quillons, a soldered two-part grip with ridged middle bulge, the flat pommel surmounted with two spherical finials. 255 grams, 31 cm
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This type of dagger presents a plate handle system, very similar to that of the Fronton sword and bilobular types, but unlike these, it develops to an antenna terminal on the pommel. It is a type of dagger that is documented in peninsular necropoleis of Hispania from the Iron Age II, such as La Mercadera, Requijana de Gormaz or Uxama. It is type V of short antennae daggers according the classification of F. Quesada Sanz, a possible ancestor of the Roman pugio. -
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Acquired 1971-1972. From the collection of the vendor's father. Property of a London, UK, collector.
The operation of the onager (Latin for 'wild ass') is first mentioned in 353 A.D. by Ammianus Marcellinus in his Res Gestae and more fully in Vegetius's Epitoma Rei Militaris probably written in the reign of Emperor Theodosius I (378-395 A.D.). -
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