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Details
LOT 0356
Viking Silver Filigree Brooch with Cross and Beast Heads
10TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (14.2 grams, 44 mm).
Composed of a sheet-silver domed discoid body with bands of applied filigree and granule detailing, cruciform design with interstitial facing masks, reeded strip detailing to reverse and hinged pin.
Provenance
Acquired in Germany in the 1990s.
Formerly the property of a European gentleman living in Germany.
Ex West London, UK, collection.
Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11730-200376.
Literature
Cf. Romisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseum Mainz (RGZM), Das Reich der Salier, 1024-1125, Sigmaringen, 1992, pp.171ff., pls.172-173, Vitrine 7; Messal, S., ‘Imitationen karolingisch-ottonischer vorBilder? Zwei runde Bleianhänger mit kreuzmotiv und leiterbandkreis aus Rostock-Dierkow’ in Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 2017, pp.549-562.
Footnotes
The gradual spreading of Christianity among the Danish Vikings can be seen in certain pieces of jewellery, as here, where a cross is clearly traced among the filigree ornaments. Pagan amulets - such as Thor's hammer - were first combined with cross motifs and finally completely replaced by crucifixes.
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LOT 0356
Viking Silver Filigree Brooch with Cross and Beast Heads
Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
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The most characteristic items of Viking women's jewellery are oval brooch pairs, sometimes called tortoise brooches due to their shape, found in many Viking Age female graves. As in this example, the tortoise brooches themselves were sometimes chained together. These chains suspended from the pair of brooches also supported utilitarian objects such as tweezers, ear spoon, scissors and a small knife, as well as amulets. Sometimes the brooches suspended strands of beads of glass, silver, amber or jet.
