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LOT 1468
Viking Silver-Gilt Pendant with Odin Gripping Two Ravens
9TH-10TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (3.58 grams, 24 mm).
Integral loop, border enclosing a low-relief image of a male facing mask between two birds embraced at the necks. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. Hammond, B. M., British Artefacts Volume 2 - Middle Saxon and Viking, p.57, item 1.5.3-f.; and Korshyn, V.E., Yazcheskye Priveski Drevnei Rusi X-XIV Vekov, Moscow, 2013, item M.2.02.
FootnotesThe iconography of the pendant is evidently based on the mythological representation of Odin, whose ravens, Huginn and Muninn, were his spirit companions and confidents. Huginn and Muninn travelled around the world bringing news and information to their master. Odin sent them out at dawn to gather information and they returned in the evening, sitting on the god's shoulders and whispering the news into his ears. It is from these ravens that the raven-god kenning representing Odin was derived.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1468
Viking Silver-Gilt Pendant with Odin Gripping Two Ravens
Sold for (Inc. bp): £494
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Viking Age Silver Gripping Beasts Pendant
10th century A.D.Estimate: £1,800 - 2,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,000
Composed of an openwork discoid body with integral T-shaped tubular loop; raised gusseted rim enclosing a pair of S-shaped beasts with billetted bodies and comma-shaped tails, enmeshed gripping paws clutching the rim and their own bodies. 12.4 grams, 43 mm
Acquired on the European art market in the 1990s. Ex property of a German gentleman.
Despite the long period of overlap of Borre and Jellinge art styles, there are only few examples of their fusion. The principal and most popular motif of the Borre style displays an animal with gripping paws, usually enmeshed in a circular frame, while a typical Jellinge style beast is more slender with long, S-shaped body and ribbon decoration. The most famous example of a pendant featuring a fusion of these styles was found in a hoard from Vårby (Sweden), formed as a circle with a pair of Jellinge-style beasts with ribbon-shaped bodies in profile and heads with open jaws and extended tongues; however, each is provided with gripping paws and an enmeshed body, which are typical features of the Borre style. A few examples of these pendants were also found near the important trading settlement of Gnezdovo, near Smolensk, Russia. -
Viking Age Silver Axe Pendant
9th-12th century A.D. or earlierSold for (Inc. bp): £117
The free-running, wedge-shaped pendant displaying repoussé pellets; slender ring with overlapping terminals, each forming a coiled sleeve around the opposite arm. 2.49 grams, 53 mm
Acquired on the EU art market around 2000. From the collection of a North American gentleman. -
Large Viking Silver Pendant with Concentric Circle Design
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £500 - 700 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £250
Repoussé complete with an applied suspension loop, central dome. 7.46 grams, 53 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
