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LOT 2078
Viking Age Silver Amuletic Pendant
CIRCA 900-1100 A.D.
3/4 in. (0.75 grams, 20 mm).
Rectangular plaque with a ribbed suspension loop. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom an ancient art collection, formerly acquired on the UK, European, and USA art markets from pre-2000 collections.
Property of a West Northamptonshire, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Bronze Inlaid Lead Hnefatafl Gaming Piece
850-1066 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
A conical gaming piece or trade weight with an inlaid bronze disc at the top. 22.3 grams, 17 mm
Found Wolcot near Folkingham, Lincolnshire, UK, on Tuesday, 1st April 2008. Property of a Scottish private collector. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.LIN-88E805.
This piece would have been used in the board game Hnefatafl. Trade weights and gaming pieces in Anglo-Scandinavian culture were often formed by taking a small and finely-made pre-existing item and embedding it into a lead matrix. The effect of this practice has been to preserve smaller pieces which would otherwise not have survived. -
Viking Gilt Bronze Horse Harness Mount with Face
Circa 10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Comprising a hollow central dome with four radiating trapezoidal arms, each with central piercing and bands of punched roundel decoration; dome with male face detailing, thick brow (or helmet) over two piriform eyes, rounded nose and wide-flaring moustache; suspension loop beneath the chin. 17.31 grams, 47.67 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Pre-Viking Gold Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Miniature drum-shaped vessel covered in filigree bobbles with strap handle. 0.78 grams, 13.52 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.
