Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1359
Viking Period Rus Silver Temple Earring Pair
10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/8 - 2 1/4 in. (30 grams total, 55-57 mm).
Each composed of a decoratively twisted upper hoop, bulbous collars and a large central bulb with projecting cones and granules. [2, No Reserve]
Provenance
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Literature
See Various, Археалогія Беларусі. Т. 1., A-K, Minsk, 2009, p.372, for similar earring typology.
Footnotes
This style of earring was typical among Slavic women in the 8th-12th centuries, an imitation of Eastern Roman models. Examples have been found in Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and with similar decoration in Belarus. Such rings were also worn as part of head-dresses, in which context they are known as ‘temple rings’ because they were worn by women near the temples. They were usually made of base metals, but some silver and gold examples also survive. Different tribes had their own designs, which were often threaded onto a cord, forming part of a
head-dress, or woven directly into braids of hair.
VETTING:
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.
RELATED LOTS
-
Viking Age Silver Ring with Stamped Design
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Scaphoid plaque with extension coiled about the shank, punched square. pellet and arch motifs forming an undulating design. 4.40 grams, 23.96 mm overall, 20.32 mm internal diameter (approximate size British U 1/2, USA 10 1/4, Europe 23.15, Japan 22)
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK. -
Viking Bronze Strap Distributor with Beast Heads
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Each head free-running with bestial detailing in relief, scrolling details to the hoop. 36 grams, 50 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).
