Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1617
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.
Provenance
Acquired in the 1950s.
Ex private collection, South West England.
Literature
Cf. MacGregor, A. et al., A Summary Catalogue of the Continental Archaeological Collections, Oxford, 1997, items 1.8,9, for type.
Footnotes
On 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.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine 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 1617
Viking Bronze Openwork Box Brooch with Silver Detailing
Estimate £500 - 700€580 - 810 (for guidance only)$680 - 950 (for guidance only)
RELATED LOTS
-
Viking Age Scandinavian Silver-Gilt Pendant with Interlaced Beasts
Circa 10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Discoid with integral loop; obverse with applied filigree Terslev ornament of three radiating looped knots and interstitial loops, boss to the centre. 13.9 grams, 42 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. -
Viking Age Bronze Bracelet with Club Terminals
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Penannular with thick clubbed terminals. 35.1 grams, 58 mm
From a London collection; acquired on the UK and European art markets before 2001. -
Viking Age Scandinavian Silver Filigree Tau Cross Pendant
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
With scooped outline to the body, transverse suspension bar; applied filigree and granule detailing, large 'eyes' flanking the median panel with looped interlace detailing; cleaned and polished. 7.5 grams, 39 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12070-212342.
This piece bears many similarities to a hoard found on the island of Hiddensee in the Baltic Sea. The hoard consisted of a classic Borre-style disc brooch, a neck ring of four twisted rods and a necklace of ten stylised cruciform pendants, such as this example. The items constitute a single set of jewellery and seem to be a gift from a Danish nobleman intended for presentation to a Slav woman of high standing. They were buried for safety en route during some local emergency that resulted in the items not being claimed. Evidence for the production of pendants in the Hiddensee style is provided by the remarkable find of forty-one bronze dies, as used for the manufacture of the pressed sheets onto which the filigree wires and granules were soldered. These dies were kept together in a leather bag, which had been dropped in the harbour at Hedeby.
