Viking Age Silver-Gilt Mount with Figure

Adorned with filigree to the sidewall and handle, a polished red glass gem to the base held in a toothed setting. 2.24 grams, 21 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.

Composed of rectangular-section overlapping arms tapering to points and strands of twisted wire braided to form the bezel. 7.71 grams, 27.96 mm overall, 17.39 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N, USA 6 1/2, Europe 13.72, Japan 13)



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.

With round-section hook, filigree collars, granulated bulb and flanking panels, openwork panel above. 6.25 grams, 30 mm



From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.