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LOT 0329
Viking Bronze Bridle Strap Junction with Beast Heads
10TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 in. (30 grams, 63 mm).
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.
ProvenanceFound Bardney, Lincolnshire, UK, in the early 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Leahy, K. and Lewis, M., Finds Identified, London, 2018, p.294, PAS NMS-482554, for similar example.
FootnotesThis 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.
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LOT 0329
Viking Bronze Bridle Strap Junction with Beast Heads
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Anglo-Scandinavian Viking Bronze Stirrup Apex Mount with Beasts
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Broad and shallow with narrow pierced ledge to reverse, Williams's Class B; openwork scene of two quadrupeds addorsed with legs resting on the outer edge of the frame and heads turned towards the median column; three loops to the curved upper edge. 35.2 grams, 52 mm
Found Spalding, Lincolnshire, UK.
This exact from does not appear in Williams's study, although examples with addorsed animals do appear in the 'Unclassified' section (p.102-4). The general shape and proportions are consistent with his Class B examples. -
Viking Age Twisted Bronze Wire Bracelet
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Penannular in form made from a single wire strand looped at one end and butted at the other. 25.4 grams, 59 mm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. -
Large Pre-Viking Gold Bracteate Medallion with Interlaced Snakes
5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £5,720
Executed using the repoussé technique, depicting interlaced snakes or possibly Jörmungandr, the world serpent; applied suspension loop with repoussé chevrons and pellets, faux ropework border around the whole. 13.04 grams, 61 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11729-200423.
The bracteate belongs to the main type D, showing an image of tetramorphic monsters. Probably here the representation refers to Jörmungandr, the serpent of Midgard, son of Loki and killer of Thor, protagonist of Ragnarok - the downfall of the gods. The art of the bracteate medallions is one of the few contemporary sources for the pre-Christian religion of the Nordic countries. It demonstrates that ancient Germanic mythology, although known from later texts, was built on a tradition dating back to at least the 5th-6th centuries A.D. The function of these medallions was linked to the social position of the wearer in Germanic society.
