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LOT 1775
Viking Age Silver-Gilt Fastener with Entwined Beasts
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 in. (3.42 grams, 37 mm).
Toggle-type fastener with disc on a narrow neck; the plaque with knotwork panel and serpent-heads; possibly for a purse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Pre-Viking Gold Aroma Bucket Pendant
4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Miniature drum-shaped vessel covered in filigree bobbles with strap handle. 0.72 grams, 15 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. -
Viking Age Bronze Twisted Bar Bracelet
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Penannular in form with tapering ends, twisted-rod construction. 33 grams, 66 mm
Ex East Sussex private collection, 1970s-1980s. -
Pre-Viking Period Bronze Ring with Wolf Heads
7th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
Penannular hoop expanding at the shoulders; the shoulders with fur detailing, and each of the finials formed as a wolf's head with large annular eyes and pointed ears. 10.25 grams, 27.53 mm overall, 21.91 mm internal diameter (approximate size British V, USA 10 1/2, Europe 23.77, Japan 22)
Found near Thetford, Norfolk, UK. Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Some rings from the Vendel period were adorned with images of monstrous animals, derived from Norse mythology. The stylisation of these animal heads recalled the wolf Fenrir, or the World Serpent, Jörmungandr.
