Viking Period Bronze Decorated Bracelet

Bifacial S-shaped with two terminals formed as dragon heads. 13 grams, 54 mm

Fine condition.

Acquired 1970s. Ex private North American collection. 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.

Tongue-shaped in profile with high-relief tendril detailing, pierced twice to lower edge, ledge to reverse; Williams Class A Type 8. 13.5 grams, 40 mm



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