Loading, please wait...
LOT 1651
Viking Age Latten Inlaid Iron Key
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
5 3/8 in. (59.6 grams, 13.6 cm).
Comprising an openwork bow, oval-section stem and pierced terminal.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
PublishedExhibited at the Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 27th August-10th December 2025; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefacts on display.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
-
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Howling Beast Stirrup Apex Mount
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
Heater-shaped in profile with trefoil knop above; high-relief profile wolf with head thrown back and one forepaw raised; ledge to reverse with holes for studs; Williams's Class A, type 11. 22.7 grams, 42 mm
Found Norfolk, UK. -
Viking Age Iron Socketted Bearded Axehead
Circa 10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
With slender ridged blade and chin to the lower edge, round socket with rectangular flanges, flattened rear edge; professionally cleaned, conserved, and restored. 788 grams, 17.5 cm
Cleaned, conserved and restored.
From the family collection of a South East London collector; formerly acquired in the late 1950s.
The 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. -
Pre-Viking Silver Filigree Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, extensive filigree decoration on the body. 2.77 grams, 21 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.
