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LOT 0342
Viking Decorated Bronze Latch Key
8TH CENTURY A.D.
3 1/2 in. (19 grams, 90 mm).
A bifacial latch-lifter with square openwork head, flat-section shank with a barbed finial, pierced to accept a suspension ring; three piercings to the head, two B-shaped, and a larger T-shape, scrolled centre bar; scrolled lappets above the junction with the shank, and two scaphoid depressions to each face and ring-and-dot decoration throughout.
ProvenanceFrom a private UK collection formed since the 1980s.
Ex property of a UK gallery, early 2000s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Lehtosalo-Hilander, P-L., Luistari I The Graves, Helsinki, 1982, pl.105, item 24.4118; and Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.3 - Late Saxon, Late Viking & Norman, Greenlight Publishing, 2013, item, 1.13-g, for type.
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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LOT 0342
Viking Decorated Bronze Latch Key
Estimate £800 - 1,000€930 - 1,160 (for guidance only)$1,080 - 1,350 (for guidance only)
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Scandinavian Pre-Viking Silver Wrist Clasp Pair
5th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £442
A matched pair of spiral-coiled wrist-clasps of Hines's Class A, each pair with one broad rounded loop to the centre and one returned hooked loop. 22.99 grams total, 36-38 mm
Property of a gentleman; acquired in the 1970s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The spiral-coil type of wrist clasp is the earliest form of an artefact type which became a very popular costume element in especially Norway and the English East Midlands in the early Anglo-Saxon Period. Grave-finds indicate that they were used to secure the cuffs of robes worn by high-status women. -
Viking Age Silver Cross Pendant with Head of a Beast
11th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
In Romanesque style, cruciform with openwork cross at centre, three oval terminals and a fourth modelled as a hound's head, the beast's mouth forming the suspension loop. 7.88 grams, 40 mm
Acquired on the UK art market. Property of an East Anglian private collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The original function of this rare and unusual pendant remains elusive. The use of expensive materials and the fine and detailed casting indicate that it would have been a highly prized object. The fusion of Christian and pagan religious motifs is typical of Iceland where the worship of the old gods continued into the 11th century. The Christian cross was used as a symbol of the new faith but the pendant also includes elements of pre-Christian motifs. Comparable objects appeared in an exhibition of English Romanesque Art 1066-1200, held at the Hayward Gallery, London, 5 April - 8 July 1984. The catalogue for this exhibition illustrates numerous small metal and gilded articles with similar grotesque terminals- No. 254 illustrated a late 12th century finial from a shrine, which is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (M.25 1962). -
Viking Period Bronze Lunar Pendant with Bird Heads
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £124
Formed as a crescentic plaque with integral loop, each horn terminating in an avian head. 2.89 grams, 24 mm
Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
