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LOT 1825
Viking Age Whetstone Blade Sharpener
CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/4 in. (23.4 grams, 81 mm).
Oval stone with one thinned end of keeled profile. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceProperty of an Essex, UK, gentleman.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Viking Age Bronze Raven's Beak Pendant
10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
With domed eye and tendril surround ending in loops, substantial suspension loop to the reverse. 16.8 grams, 55 mm
Acquired before 1990. Ex property of a professional collector. -
Viking Period Bronze Lunar Pendant
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Crescentic body with ribbed suspension loop and pelletted terminals. 6.58 grams, 36 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. -
Pre-Viking Gold Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Miniature drum-shaped vessel covered in a filigree meander pattern with granules and a strap handle. 1.60 grams, 12 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.
