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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 Snake-Headed Bracelet
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Penannular, round in section with bands of punched points to the shank, snake-head finials. 36.9 grams, 76 mm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman. -
Viking Bronze Openwork Applique
8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £878
Flat bronze plaque with openwork detailing of two opposed zoomorphs, their slender bodies enmeshed within a lattice of tails, limbs and lappets; attachment holes at the eyes and rump; the eyes with pointillé surround; supplied with a custom-made stand. 20 grams total, 75 mm including stand
Ex German collection. with Artemis Gallery, Colorado, USA, 8 March 2016, 58A. Private American collection, New York, USA. Accompanied by a copy of a previous typed catalogue page.
The style of the plaque is very heavily influenced by the Irish Book of Kells where confronted, interlaced figures appear as ornament. -
Viking Bronze Bridle Strap Junction with Beast Heads
10th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £600 - 800 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £320
Comprising a rectangular suspension loop with D-section shank and mask below, two flanking arms each with a zoomorphic (bear?) face, one terminating in a wolf's head and the other in a bird's head; small loops below the terminals. 30 grams, 63 mm
Found Bardney, Lincolnshire, UK, in the early 1990s.
This bridle junction is decorated in the Anglo-Scandinavian Ringerike style. On each side of the central hole is an outward facing animal, their beaked heads positioned on the outer edges. The details on the face are carried out in moulded relief as well as engraving.
