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LOT 1729
Viking Period Silver Trade Ingot
CIRCA 800-1000 A.D.
3 3/4 in. (84 grams, 97 mm).
Sub-rectangular in plan and ovate in section, tapering to a rounded point at each end, some areas hammered flat in antiquity and displaying numerous striations and casting bubbles, nine triangular peck marks along the flat underside, but otherwise undecorated. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a private Tyneside collection, formed since the early 2000s.
Accompanied by a copy of a previous illustrated catalogue sheet.
Cuerdale Viking silver hoard from Lancashire which includes similar long, narrow examples and was deposited circa 905-910 (J. Graham-Campbell, 2011, The Cuerdale Hoard and related Viking-Age silver and gold from Britain and Ireland in the British Museum, London, pl. 3, 1: 17-18).
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 Bronze Boar's Head Brooch with Cross
9th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
With decorative upper surface attached to a plain back-plate with spring-lugs and catchplate intact; the upper face divided by a heavy cast median rib with zoomorphic ornament in the outer panels, arranged symmetrically along the rib with a similar transverse band; the corners of the wider end reinforced with vertical posts ending in heavy lobed ‘ears’; the side panels decorated with zones of interlace ornament and the upper-end panel with a continuation of the median rib, traces of ornamental interlace; the lower-end panel plain; the transverse band pierced by two holes to accept pins (part of one one still in situ) representing 'eyes' on the stylised head; hollow-cast. 62 grams, 56 mm
Acquired in the early 1990s. From an old English collection.
These animal head-brooches were seemingly manufactured solely on Gotland, and have been classified by scholars in various ways: for example, the manner in which the back-plate is formed and applied, or if a plain internal shell was overlaid with an openwork decorative casing. MacGregor classified them according to their decorative criteria, and his scheme is generally followed in Anglophone literature. They began to appear in the Vendel period (earlier 8th century) and continued into the 12th century in a broadly similar form. Our fitting is related to the conventional group of the gripping beast ornament, here very stylised. -
Viking Age Decorated Bronze Key
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Comprising a round-section tapering shank with ribbed collar to each end; polyhedral block to each end, quatrefoil bit with openwork design, pierced suspension lug. 43.8 grams, 11.6 cm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Viking Silver Pendant with Rock Crystal
8th-10th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £624
With hexagonal-section crystal bead modified for use as a pendant with the addition of a silver collar bearing filigree ropework; thick wire suspension loop with ends twisted around the shank. 7.55 grams, 51 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
