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Back to previous pageLOT 0357
Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,460
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 5/8 in. (6.26 grams, 42 mm).
The upper face decorated with a two-headed filigree raven, raised ropework border, suspension loop with pyramids of granules continuing onto the reverse. [No Reserve]
PROVENANCE:
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s.
Westminster collection, central London, UK.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.203746.
LITERATURE:
Cf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, for discussion and comparable examples; cf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, for discussion and comparable examples; cf. Korshun, V.E.. Yazcheskye Priveski Drevnei Rusi X-XIV Vekov, volume III, Moscow, 2013, item L.1.01.
FOOTNOTES:
Pairs of ravens were considered auspicious in medieval Scandinavian society. In pre-Christian times, two such birds were the informants of the god Odin, who relayed news of the deeds of men. They were also carrion birds, frequenting battlefields to feast on the bodies of fallen warriors.
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