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LOT 1506
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch with Cross
10TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (10.06 grams, 31 mm).
The bird in profile with equal-arm cross on its back, linear detail to the wing and tail, lentoid eye, loop below the chest; loop to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound near Winteringham, Humberside, UK.
LiteratureCf. Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010, item 1.1.3-a.
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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LOT 1506
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch with Cross
Estimate £200 - 300€230 - 350 (for guidance only)$270 - 410 (for guidance only)
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Viking Age Bronze Equal-Arm Brooch
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Displaying a central boss with cruciform design, the arms with openwork beast heads. 37 grams, 84 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Viking Gilt Bronze Stirrup Mount with Stylised Dragons
10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £215
Together with a palmette outline to one face, opposed beasts within the ornament; punched pellet texturing and pierced in several places for attachment. 17.7 grams, 42 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex property of a German collector. -
Viking Age Silver Gripping Beasts Pendant
10th century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Composed of an openwork discoid body with integral T-shaped tubular loop; raised gusseted rim enclosing a pair of S-shaped beasts with billetted bodies and comma-shaped tails, enmeshed gripping paws clutching the rim and their own bodies. 12.4 grams, 43 mm
Acquired on the European art market in the 1990s. Ex property of a German gentleman.
Despite the long period of overlap of Borre and Jellinge art styles, there are only few examples of their fusion. The principal and most popular motif of the Borre style displays an animal with gripping paws, usually enmeshed in a circular frame, while a typical Jellinge style beast is more slender with long, S-shaped body and ribbon decoration. The most famous example of a pendant featuring a fusion of these styles was found in a hoard from Vårby (Sweden), formed as a circle with a pair of Jellinge-style beasts with ribbon-shaped bodies in profile and heads with open jaws and extended tongues; however, each is provided with gripping paws and an enmeshed body, which are typical features of the Borre style. A few examples of these pendants were also found near the important trading settlement of Gnezdovo, near Smolensk, Russia.
