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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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Square in plan with hollow body, repoussé motif of a tree with flanking birds at the sides and serpents below; integral suspension loop. 19.42 grams, 44.78 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Viking Period Ornate Crown with Brooch and Pin Set
Circa 8th-9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £12,350
Comprising: a restrung headdress formed as ten square panels, each with vertical bands of pellets framing four columns of ring-and-dot ornament, with interstitial groups of three tubular spacer beads with corrugated profile; two dress-pins each with a lobed cruciform head and appliqué panel, pierced lug at the top of the shank to mount a transverse cocked-hat panel with three pendant chains of double links, faced with an appliqué tinned sheet with stamped motifs of hatched triangles, ring-and-dot and billets to the border; bow-brooch with transverse spring and header with knop finials ornamented with beaded collars, stepped bow with coiled wire collar and semicircular bar with notched upper face, trapezoidal footplate with catch and pin to reverse; each mounted on a custom-made stand. 2.3 kg total, crown: 36 cm high including stand, brooches: 15-22.5 cm high including stand
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Axe-shaped pendant with hammer extension and linear decoration, round-section suspension loop threaded through the socket. 4.34 grams, 30 mm
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