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LOT 0393
Viking Age Silver Sword Chape with Interlaced Design
CIRCA 9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 in. (46.80, 62.38 mm.).
With heater-shaped body and trefoil to the apex with lobe detailing, openwork Borre Style design to the body with three-band mesh design, facing mask with lobes to the upper edge, pellet eyes and moustache.
ProvenanceEx property of a professional collector; acquired before 1990.
LiteratureCf. Paulsen, P., Schwertortbänder der Wikingerzeit, Stuttgart, 1953, figs.48-55; Murasheva, V.V., Gnezdovo. Rezultati kompleksnikh issledovaniy pamiatnika, St. Petersburg, 2007, fig.9, items 1, 2; Yotov, V., The Vikings on the Balkans, Varna, 2003, pp.12-13, for the type.
FootnotesThe image seems to be a mixture of the two Scandinavian styles 'Borre' and 'Jellinge'. They belong to the style of 'German four legged beast' in Animal style from the Baltic Sea region, according to P. Paulsen's classification. The recent discoveries of similar chapes in the Balkans suggest their employment from the Varangian Guard of Byzantium in 10th century A.D.
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Viking Age Bronze Cross Pendant
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £390
Flat-section cruciform plaque with tong-and-dot detailing to obverse, barrel-shaped Byzantine-style suspension loop. 27.2 grams, 73 mm
Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman. -
Viking Bronze Openwork Box Brooch with Silver Detailing
11th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £240
Formed as an openwork outer shell, inner container and bottom plate; the upper face with central conical boss and four small satellite bosses each with a silver surface disc; to the outer face four pierced tongue-shaped panels with D-shaped finials proud of the upper face, each with a silvered element to the upper end; the bottom plate with integral catchplate and central void, four attachment pins to the underside; the upper face and sidewall executed in Urnes style zoomorphic openwork; the inner element a plain sheet-bronze container. 95 grams, 55 mm
Acquired in the 1950s. Ex private collection, South West England.
On the Baltic island of Gotland, high-ranking females wore 'box' (or 'drum') brooches to secure their outer garments at the shoulders. The inner container may have been used to hold small valuables. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Apex Mount Group
Circa 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £222
Comprising: one mount of Class A Type 8 with three attachment holes, and one of Class A Type 6 with upper loop broken. 27 grams total, 44-47 mm
Found near Lyndhurst, New Forest, Hampshire, UK.
