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LOT 1724
Viking Age Silver Bar and Hammer Group
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1/2 - 1 3/8 in. (21.2 grams total, 12-36 mm).
Hack-silver comprising flat-section bar fragments, square-section ingot fragments; miniature hammer pendant with three stamped pelletted triangles. [5, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s.
From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Gold Elfshot Crystal Pendant
9th-11th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £494
Comprising a D-shaped gold cap with arched recesses to each flat face, integral loop above, inset crystal bead with reserved pellet eyes. 0.59 grams, 14 mm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection.
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. -
Viking Age Bronze Crescentic Collar
9th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Broad flat-section collar with tapering ends, hook-and-eye closure (eye absent); traces of mineralise hair or textile in the corrosion products. 32 grams, 15.7 cm
Acquired on the European art market since the early 2000s. From the private Northern Ireland collection of R.M. -
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch
10th-12th century A.D.Estimate: £150 - 200 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £83
Modelled in profile with radiating tripartite crest, triangular stub wing, splayed feet, catch and pin-lugs to the reverse. 10.9 grams, 38 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Bird brooches from the late Viking era have been found in Scandinavia as well in the English Danelaw, through to the early Norman era; such brooches can be dated to the 11th and even early 12th century.
