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LOT 1585
Viking Age Silver Mount with Lunar Pendant
CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (2.65 grams, 45 mm).
Discoid mount with repoussé animal design, pierced for attachment of a crescent dangle. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985.
From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Gold Ring with Five Pendants
Circa 8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Wire ring with ends wound around the shank; miniature tool pendants including a sickle, mirror, dagger, spike and skillet. 2.81 grams, 30 mm
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman. -
Viking Age Silver Axehead Pendant
Circa 8th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Tapering axehead pendant on a ring with coiled ends, triangular punched detailing. 3.75 grams, 44 mm
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman. -
Viking Age Gold 'Elf Shot' Pendant
9th-11th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £312
Gold cup with hoop and suspension loop, aqua glass insert. 0.55 grams, 16 mm
From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.
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.
