Loading, please wait...
LOT 0325
Viking Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Openwork Beast Motif
9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 in. (4 1/8 in.) (109 grams, 56 mm (162 grams total, 10.5 cm including stand)).
Hollow-formed with openwork decorative outer surface attached to a plain back-plate with one spring-lug and catchplate intact; the upper face divided by a heavy segmented median rib and zoomorphic ornament in the outer panels, arranged symmetrically along the rib with a similar transverse band; the corners of the wider end reinforced with vertical posts ending in heavy lobed ‘ears’; the side panels decorated with zones of interlace zoomorphic ornament and the upper-end panel with a continuation of the median rib, traces of ornamental interlace; the lower-end panel plain.
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK art market, 1995-2000s.
Private collection, London.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12987-246190.
Cf. Franceschi, G., Jorn, A. & Magnus, B., Mennesker, Guder og Masker i Nordisk Jernalderkunst Vol. 1, Silkeborg, 2005, figs.130-1.
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:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
LOT 0325
Viking Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Openwork Beast Motif
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
-
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Bound Odin Openwork Stirrup Apex Mount Upper Section
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Of an excessively rare example of Williams Class A, Type 3 showing a standing nude man with beard and long moustache, an animal-like form around the man's waist extending towards the flanking serpents on each side. 14.8 grams, 41 mm
Found Gloucestershire, UK.
Based on comparable examples, when complete the serpents' tails wrapped around the man's legs, and their open jaws gaped on either side of his head. -
Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Lozenge-Shaped Stirrup Apex Mount
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Lozenge-shaped with openwork gusseted lattice and raised pellets to the body, pierced lobe above with ferrous rivet, ledge to reverse with ferrous accretion. 25.5 grams, 48 mm
Found Norfolk, UK. -
.jpg)
Viking Silver Elfshot Pendant with Stone Arrowhead
9th-11th century A.D. and earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £572
An amulet with a silver cap securing an arrow-shaped flint insert. 2.43 grams, 34 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
This amulet was believed to offer protection against 'Elfshot'. The attack of elves was believed responsible for mysterious suffering in men and livestock: sudden shooting pains localised to a particular area of the body, such as in rheumatism, arthritis, or muscle stitches or cramps. Elves were thought to shoot darts or arrows where such pains had no obvious external cause. Belief in elfshot persisted into the 20th century in rural areas, and as proof, country folk would sometimes find small arrowheads (the remains of Neolithic or Mesolithic flints, or naturally-occurring spear-shaped stones) that were believed to be the magical weapons that caused the afflictions. Belief in elfshot began in the Pagan Germanic period.
