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LOT 1268
Viking Period Lock and Key Group
CIRCA 10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
4 1/8 - 4 5/8 in. (250 grams total, 10.7-11.8 cm).
A group of iron keys and a lock; three keys with square pierced finials; one with a disc finial, two square voids; one with a cruciform head. crimped edges and void; iron barrel padlock with hasp. [6, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1971-1972.
From the collection of the vendor's father.
Property of a London, UK, collector.
Cf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, plate 108.
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 Silver Axe Pendant
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
A silver pendant composed of a free-running axehead pendant suspended on a slender hoop with overlapping arms and coiled terminals. 1.28 grams, 28 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. UK private collection. Property of a Sussex, UK, teacher. -
Viking Age Omega-Shaped Brooch
Circa 12th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
A Viking-inspired bronze Mordvinian omega-shaped brooch composed of a round-section penannular hoop, trapezoidal plates with granulation and free-running pin with coiled attachment loop. 12.6 grams, 61 mm
Acquired in the 1990s. From a North Yorkshire private collection, UK. -
Pre-Viking Silver Filigree Aroma Bucket Pendant
4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
A silver pendant formed as a miniature bucket with applied filigree bands to the strap handle and body, granules to the median panel of the body and at the junction with the handle. 4.28 grams, 25 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.
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.
