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LOT 1429
Viking Bronze Zoomorphic Strap End Collection
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 - 2 in. (37.7 grams total, 34-50 mm).
Most with piercings or attachment rivets and displaying beasts in relief or openwork. [4, No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
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 Iron Pin with Bronze Horse Head Finial
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Composed of a tapering pin, beast head neck and polygonal head engraved with a boat occupied by a central figure and two horse's heads facing outwards; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 70 grams total, 13 cm high including stand
Ex private UK collection formed in the 1980s. Property of an East Sussex, UK, teacher.
A similar design can be seen on the Tjonehoj brooch, Denmark. -
Viking Age Silver-Gilt Zoomorphic Strap End
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Comprising a slender animal head finial modelled with raised eyes, sub-triangular body with chased interlace; remains of gilding. 3.19 grams, 40 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Viking Age 'Great Beast' Weather Vane Terminal
11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Formed as a crouching beast modelled in the round with hollow slot to the underside; elongated head with raised lentoid eyes and ellipsoid ears, ribbed wings to the shoulders, knop tail and splayed claws to the feet; mouth open with detailed fangs. 84.9 grams, 66 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 200289.
The navigation techniques in use in Iron Age Northern Europe were very sophisticated, as would be expected from people bordering the Baltic, North Sea and North Atlantic where boat- and ship-building traditions have been perfected over more than a thousand years. A carved wooden panel from Bergen, Norway, shows a number of Viking longships at sea, some with weathervanes mounted on the stempost. They are mounted vertically with the beast on the outer end. Gilded bronze weathervanes appear on the roofs of medieval churches in Sweden, Norway and Finland where they are often regarded as ornamental: symbols of access to resources and craftsmanship for the important families who endowed such buildings. These weathervanes in many cases originally adorned ships and were used as part of the navigational equipment. They may have inspired the medieval Norman custom of attaching a gilded weathervane or cock to church roofs, which eventually spread to secular buildings such as castles in France and Italy where their use was restricted to certain ranks of nobility (Lindgrén, 1983).
