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Details
LOT 1115
Viking Rus Silver-Gilt Sword Belt End Group
10TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 - 2 in. (34 grams total, 37-50 mm).
Comprising four sword belt strap ends of roughly rectangular form, with one rounded or gabled end and one fishtail end, each bearing a different nielloed decorative scheme, comprising: one with split front plate bearing geometric foliage framed by radiating lines to the perimeter; one with pelletted border and medial scrolled bar; one displaying a medial row of circular recesses and surrounding circular motifs; one decorated with five medial circular recesses on a ground of foliate forms, pellet border; all with a set of mounting lugs to the reverse. [4]
Provenance
Acquired in the 1980s-1990s.
Ex an important central London gallery, London W1.
Literature
Cf. Murasheva, V.V., Old Russian belt ornaments, Moscow, 2000, pl.61, for similar types.
Footnotes
During the medieval period, belts had a range of functions. They girdled the clothes and enabled suspension of small items such as knives, whetstones, purses and leather bags. The decoration of the belt depended on the social status of its owner: peasants wore woven and simple leather straps, whereas large feudal lords, prominent warriors, and princes wore golden belts, which were passed down through the generations.
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LOT 1115
Viking Rus Silver-Gilt Sword Belt End Group
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
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Medieval Iron Schiavonesca Type Sword with Latten Inlaid Crosses
Circa 15th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
Comprising a broad double-edged parallel-sided blade, flat-section at the upper third with a very shallow central fuller, elliptical-section at the lower end; flat guard with scooped lower edge, D-section arms horizontally S-curved; 'cat's head' type pommel, rectangular with scrolled upper edge and integral central boss to both faces; on the upper part of the blade an engraved three-armed workshop mark and two possibly later added brass inlaid marks including a cross fourchee inside and the image of a sword to one side; mounted on a wall display mount. 1.7 kg total, 1.11 m
In general good condition, point missing, blade structure with little delamination along the upper part, corrosion damages along the edges and on the surface, some material loss on the original surface.
Private collection, Munich, Germany, 1970s. Private collection, London, UK, 2014, acquired from the above.
The Schiavonesca sword was used by Dalmatian mercenaries serving in the Venetian state armies, and produced by the workshops of the Serenissima to which the marks probably belong. Many of these swords were produced in Dubrovnik, a Croatian city under the Venetian rule. Oakeshott classified all the pommels of square shape in his Type Z. Certain morphological differences between them were individuated by Dr Aleksić as a criteria for distinguishing the distinct subtypes, in this case the type Z3 for the upper crenelleted edge. The cross-guards of type 12b, like in this case, have symmetrically and horizontally sharply bent arms in the opposite directions. The 'cat's head' pommel is also found on surviving examples of cross-hilted swords of the 14th century which can be traced into the hands of Slavonic soldiers stationed in southern Europe, employed in the European armies of this period. The independent representation of the cross fourchee usually inscribed in a circle is rather frequent on the swords with type 12 cross guards and type Z pommel from Hungary, Northern Balkans and the neighbouring regions (Aleksić, 2007, p.122).
