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LOT 1316
Viking Bronze Buckle with Beast Head
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (9.4 grams, 36 mm).
Displaying high-relief detailing to the bow, zoomorphs with central triangular mask and openwork limbs; bar to the rear. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010, item 1.2b.
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 Openwork Ring
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £46
Composed of an expanded bezel decorated with circlets and triangles; part of hoop absent. 3.81 grams, 22.11 mm overall, 18.19 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14.35, Japan 13)
London art market before 2000. Property of an Essex gentleman. -
Viking Age Fire Steel with Bronze Handle with Horse and Riders
10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
Shown addorsed in a stylised openwork design, central suspension loop and iron steel with crescentic profile. 27 grams, 66 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Pre-Viking Silver Filigree Bucket Pendant
4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
A silver pendant formed as a miniature bucket with applied filigree bands to the strap handle and body. 2.57 grams, 24 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.
