Loading, please wait...

Viking Age Silver Axe-Shaped Pendant with Ring Viking Age Silver Axe-Shaped Pendant with Ring Viking Age Silver Axe-Shaped Pendant with Ring
Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge
Details

LOT 1593

Viking Age Silver Axe-Shaped Pendant with Ring

CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.

1 3/4 in. (2.21 grams, 43 mm).

Suspension ring with ends wound around the shank, triangular axehead pendant. [No Reserve]

Provenance

Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985.
From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.

CONDITION
VETTING:

TimeLine 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.

LOT 1593

Viking Age Silver Axe-Shaped Pendant with Ring

Sold for (Inc. bp): £117

Print page

RELATED LOTS
  • Viking Age Twisted Bronze Bracelet
    Viking Age Twisted Bronze Bracelet
    Circa 10th-12th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £46

    Penannular with twisted twisted rod shank, returned loop finials. 70 grams, 66 mm



    Private European collection formed before 2000. UK art market. Property of an Essex gentleman.

    Lot Details

  • Viking Bronze Boars Head Brooch with Cross
    Viking Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Cross
    9th-10th century A.D.

    Estimate: £500 - 600 (‡+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £240

    With decorative upper surface attached to a plain back-plate with spring-lugs and catchplate intact; the upper face divided by a heavy cast median rib with zoomorphic ornament in the outer panels, arranged symmetrically along the rib with a similar transverse band; the corners of the wider end reinforced with vertical posts ending in heavy lobed ‘ears’; the side panels decorated with zones of interlace ornament and the upper-end panel with a continuation of the median rib, traces of ornamental interlace; the lower-end panel plain; the transverse band pierced by two holes to accept pins (part of one one still in situ) representing 'eyes' on the stylised head; hollow-cast. 62 grams, 56 mm



    Acquired in the early 1990s. From an old English collection.

    These animal head-brooches were seemingly manufactured solely on Gotland, and have been classified by scholars in various ways: for example, the manner in which the back-plate is formed and applied, or if a plain internal shell was overlaid with an openwork decorative casing. MacGregor classified them according to their decorative criteria, and his scheme is generally followed in Anglophone literature. They began to appear in the Vendel period (earlier 8th century) and continued into the 12th century in a broadly similar form. Our fitting is related to the conventional group of the gripping beast ornament, here very stylised.

    Lot Details

  • Viking White Metal Filigree Crucifix Pendant
    Viking White Metal Filigree Crucifix Pendant
    8th-12th century AD

    Estimate: £1,200 - 1,700 (+bp*)

    Opening Bid: £600

    Depicting Christ bound by his wrists to the cross, wearing trousers; granulation to the body indicates a patterned shirt; beaded border around the perimeter of the cross; this lot bears close parallels with the ‘Birka Crucifix’ held by the Swedish History Museum but is not made from silver. 9.32 grams, 31 mm

    Very fine condition, some wear. Rare.

    Acquired on the London art market in the 2000s.

    The Birka Crucifix pendant, unearthed from Birka grave 660 in Uppland, Sweden, is thought to be the oldest representation of Christ in the Nordic world and bears many similarities to this lot. The Swedish History Museum’s example was excavated from the grave of a wealthy female Christian convert; it is a filigree figure of Christ bound to the cross by his wrists, wearing trousers; this lot is a lower-relief white metal filigree crucifix with integral suspension loop, featuring a representation of head and face executed in the same shape and style as that of the Birka Crucifix figure.

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list