Northern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 9th to 11th century CE. A lovely bracelet comprised of high quality (99%) silver, of a cuff form with rounded terminals and a flat body. The hammered cuff was meticulously stamped with petite triangular motifs arranged in broad rectangular, columnar, and cruciform designs, and further embellished with dozens of miniscule stippling marks. Though the motif of stamped triangles was incredibly popular throughout the Viking world, there are various interpretations of its symbolism. A fine accessory covered in smooth patina. Size: 2.4" W (4.1 cm x 6.1 cm); 1.6" thick (1.5 cm); quality of silver: 99%; total weight: 23.2 grams.
A piece such as this would have been made in a specialized workshop centered around a hearth, probably using the lost wax casting technique. The important Viking metalworking shops correspond to their great trading ports and proto-urban centers - Birka, Helgo, Sigtuna, and Lund in Sweden, Ribe, Haithabu (Hedeby), and Fyrkat in Denmark, and Kaupang and Trondheim in Norway. Silver was the principal currency of the Viking world, which stretched from Russia to northern Canada at the height of their influence. In many places, the Vikings kept silver not as coins, but as jewelry, a wearable currency form that was not subject to the authority of a monarch or mint. One of the most common archaeological finds from the Viking period is a hoard of metal objects, often buried in the earth or deposited in bodies of water, like river beds.
Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection; ex-private Kaliningrad (Koenigsberg) and then Latvia collection; found on the Baltic Sea coast prior to 1982
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#153452
Condition
Wearable as shown. Very slight bending to overall form, with very light abrasions and encrustations, and minor softening to some finer details, otherwise intact and excellent. Smooth patina throughout.