LOT 0336

Viking Silver-Gilt Bronze Boar-Headed Brooch

CIRCA 9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.

2 1/2 in. (4 3/8 in.) (140 grams, 65 mm (220 grams total, 11 cm including stand)).

Hollow-formed with an applied backplate; the heavily decorated body with upstanding ears and a clubbed end to the muzzle; a narrow median raised band separating the face into two panels, each decorated with interlaced ornament in low relief depicting serpents locked in combat, their bodies dramatically entwined; the rear panel with four 'forearm and hand' motifs surrounding a central lozenge with pellet; rectangular guilloche to the lower borders, muzzle-band, rear panel and median upper band; Jellinge Style scrollwork to the outer and upper faces of the conical 'ears'; a hinged pin to the underside with curved catch, applied plate to the underside with two bands of punched lozenge decoration; mounted on a custom-made stand.

Private collection, New York, USA.
with Artemis Gallery, Colorado, USA, 15 February 2018, no.58.
Private American collection, New York, USA.
TimeLine Auctions, 5 March 2024, no.391.
Private collection, London.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13146-248323.

Cf. MacGregor, A. et al., A Summary Catalogue of the Continental Archaeological Collections, Oxford, 1997, item 3.20; an earlier and plainer example is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, under reference 1992.59.3.

Box-shaped hollow animal-head brooches originated on the island of Gotland, Sweden, although they have been found in other parts of the Viking world. They were made to be worn in pairs, high on the chest of women's 'hangerok' apron-dresses with chains and swags of beads suspended between them. They are found in women's burials alongside utility items such as a knife or tweezers, and formed part of the costume of females from prosperous families. This example shows exceptionally fine decoration and would have been a treasured item, denoting the wealth and status of the family of the woman who wore it.