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LOT 1610
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch
10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 in. (10.9 grams, 38 mm).
Modelled in profile with radiating tripartite crest, triangular stub wing, splayed feet, catch and pin-lugs to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf.Pedersen, A., ‘ Birds of Prey or Doves. Early Medieval bird-shaped brooches’ in Aarboger for Nordisk Oldkyndighed og Historie 1999 (2001), 2001, pp.19-66, fig.22, for similar brooch; Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.3 - Late Saxon, Late Viking & Norman, Witham, 2013, item 1.1.3-d.
FootnotesBird brooches from the late Viking era have been found in Scandinavia as well in the English Danelaw, through to the early Norman era; such brooches can be dated to the 11th and even early 12th century.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1610
Viking Bronze Bird Brooch
Estimate £150 - 200€170 - 230 (for guidance only)$200 - 270 (for guidance only)
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Pre Viking Scandinavian Silver Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, beaded wire bands to top and bottom of sidewall, filigree loop ornament. 2.02 grams, 18 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. -
Viking Age Gold Ribbed Ring
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
Formed as a graduated sequence of bulbs, plain reverse. 2.61 grams, 19.59 mm overall, 15.39 mm internal diameter (approximate size British I 1/2, USA 4 1/2, Europe 8.07, Japan 7)
Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s. -
Viking Bronze Raven's Head Mount
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Openwork mount with raven's head surrounded by a flange rim with scroll detailing. 6.23 grams, 31 mm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
