Viking Bronze Dragon-Headed Sword Hanger

Of Williams's Class A type 1, tongue-shaped with addorsed beasts outlined in niello; shallow ledge to the reverse, attachment holes at the apex and base. 25.2 grams, 50 mm



Found Brough, Lincolnshire, UK. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Miniature drum-shaped vessel with strap handle, beaded wire bands to the bottom and sidewall, polished red stone insert to the base. 1.28 grams, 19 mm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

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.

Sheet-gold plaque with folded edges, repoussé image of a facing figure in ankle-length robe, hands resting on the hips. 1.45 grams, 26 mm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12755-234703. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Guldgubbe was originally a Swedish word that has entered in the Scandinavian language and denote tiny human or divine figures either cut from sheet gold or formed over a patrix. Figures of women are extremely rare in metal art before the 7th century A.D. It is only with Guldgubbe that women make their appearance. They are usually viewed both in profile or (like here) frontally.