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LOT 0295
Viking Bronze Openwork Box Brooch with Silver Detailing
11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 in. (95 grams, 55 mm).
Formed as an openwork outer shell, inner container and bottom plate; the upper face with central conical boss and four small satellite bosses each with a silver surface disc; to the outer face four pierced tongue-shaped panels with D-shaped finials proud of the upper face, each with a silvered element to the upper end; the bottom plate with integral catchplate and central void, four attachment pins to the underside; the upper face and sidewall executed in Urnes style zoomorphic openwork; the inner element a plain sheet-bronze container.
ProvenanceAcquired in the 1950s.
Ex private collection, South West England.
Cf. MacGregor, A. et al., A Summary Catalogue of the Continental Archaeological Collections, Oxford, 1997, items 1.8,9, for type.
FootnotesOn the Baltic island of Gotland, high-ranking females wore 'box' (or 'drum') brooches to secure their outer garments at the shoulders. The inner container may have been used to hold small valuables.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0295
Viking Bronze Openwork Box Brooch with Silver Detailing
Estimate £600 - 800€700 - 930 (for guidance only)$810 - 1,080 (for guidance only)
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Viking Age Faux Twisted Bronze Torc
Circa 10th-11th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £117
Solid twisted rope design with large flattened leaf-shaped terminals. 175 grams, 18.2 cm
Ex old English collection. London art market, 1980s. -
Viking Age Silver Pendant with Huginn and Muninn
Circa 10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Composed of an openwork discoid body displaying the two mythical ravens Huginn and Muninn positioned back-to-back, heads turned to face each other, simple detailing to their feathers and raised notched border; suspension loop to apex. 6.01 grams, 30 mm high
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
In Norse mythology, these two ravens were sent on daily flights around the world by the god Odin. Believed to have been granted the power of speech by Odin, the birds would perch on the god's shoulders to relay news gathered on their travels. -
Viking Age Bronze Disc Brooch with Beast Facing Back
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Composed of a flat-section discoid body with pelletted border, low-relief motif of an advancing beast in regardant pose, tail curled beneath the body, the mouth open; pin-lug and catchplate to the reverse; Baltic workmanship. 9.17 grams, 26.61 mm
Ex property of a Dutch collector before 2014. From the collection of a North American gentleman
The brooch is a later Scandinavian copy of a 9th century Anglo-Saxon brooch type with a regardant horse. The present example has a more dragon-like beast in similar pose with serpentine head and extended tongue.
