Viking Age Silver Axe Pendant

Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, beaded wire bands to the bottom and sidewall, polished red stone insert to the base. 1.28 grams, 19 mm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

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.

Comprising: four cruciform mounts, each domed with reserved silver niello-filled interlaced cross on a billeted parcel-gilt field, mounting hole to each end, some with studs; T-shaped mount with reserved loops and bars on a billeted parcel-gilt field, loops above the vertical shank and fixing pin to angle; similar mount with ferrous remains to the hinge. 74 grams total, 41-49 mm



European art market. Acquired in Münich in 2012. European private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12289-222348. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Comprising a D-shaped gold cap with integral loop above, inset knapped flint blade. 1.64 grams, 57 mm



From the collection of a late Japanese collector, 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

This amulet was believed to offer protection against 'Elfshot'. The attack of elves was believed responsible for mysterious suffering in men and livestock: sudden shooting pains localised to a particular area of the body, such as in rheumatism, arthritis or muscle stitches or cramps. Elves were thought to shoot darts or arrows where such pains had no obvious external cause. Belief in elfshot persisted into the 20th century in rural areas, and as proof country folk would sometimes find small arrowheads (the remains of Neolithic or Mesolithic flints, or naturally-occurring spear-shaped stones) that were believed to be the magical weapons that caused the afflictions. Belief in elfshot began in the Pagan Germanic period.