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LOT 2068
Viking Silver-Gilt Elfshot Pendant with Stone Arrowhead
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D. AND EARLIER
1 3/4 in. (3.46 grams, 44.84 mm).
Comprising a silver sleeve with a knapped flint arrowhead, a circular cell set with a clear glass cabochon above. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Evans, J., The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments of Great Britain, London, 1897, p.365; Korshun, V.E., Yazcheskye Priveski Drevnei Rusi X-XIV Vekov, volume I, Moscow, 2012, item A.2.03.
FootnotesThis amulet was believed to offer protection against 'Elfshot'. The attack of elves was believed responsible for mysterious suffering in men and livestock: sudden shooting pains localised to a particular area of the body, such as in rheumatism, arthritis, or muscle stitches or cramps. Elves were thought to shoot darts or arrows where such pains had no obvious external cause. Belief in elfshot persisted into the 20th century in rural areas, and as proof, country folk would sometimes find small arrowheads (the remains of Neolithic or Mesolithic flints, or naturally-occurring spear-shaped stones) that were believed to be the magical weapons that caused the afflictions. Belief in elfshot began in the Pagan Germanic period.
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LOT 2068
Viking Silver-Gilt Elfshot Pendant with Stone Arrowhead
Sold for (Inc. bp): £845
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Viking Age Silver Amuletic Pendant
Circa 900-1100 A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Flat-section rectangular disc with a large loop. 0.57 grams, 17 mm
From an ancient art collection, formerly acquired in the UK, European, and USA art markets, from pre-2000 collections. Property of a West Northamptonshire, UK, gentleman. -
Pre-Viking Gold Aroma Bucket Pendant
Circa 4th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Miniature drum-shaped vessel covered in filigree bobbles with strap handle. 0.78 grams, 13.52 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.
Pendants in the form of miniature buckets have been found in a number of pagan Anglo-Saxon and Viking contexts and are generally made of bronze or iron, with gold examples being rare; three gold examples were found with the hoard from Hoen, Norway. Bronze bucket amulets have been found at Driffield in Yorkshire, and Vimose bog in Denmark, among other places. In form they represent wooden buckets bound with bronze or iron bands which have been found in Anglo-Saxon and Viking graves and are believed to have held mead or ale and were used to replenish the cups from which warriors drank. As amulets they probably represent the ecstatic power of alcoholic drink and the role of women as the dispensers of these precious beverages. -
Viking Age Scandinavian Silver-Gilt Pendant with Mask
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £975
With integral loop, border enclosing a low-relief image of a male facing mask between two birds embraced at the necks; Kipplingeberg type. 3.81 grams, 23 mm
Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK.
