Superb 10th C. Viking Silver Thor's Hammer

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Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine A...

By Artemis Gallery

Nov 16, 2023

Set Reminder 2023-11-16 10:00:00 2023-11-16 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Exceptional Antiquities, Ethnographic, Fine Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/exceptional-antiquities-ethnographic-fine-art-14161
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• Lot Description
  Northern Europe, Viking/Norse culture, ca. 10th to 12th century CE. A stunning, high-quality silver Thor's hammer or Mjolnir pendant with relief and gilt decoration suspended on a thick loop flanked by a pair of incised silver cuffs and strung on a modern, braided silver chain to be wearable. Scrolling vegetal and rope motifs adorn the hammer, while stamped geometric and dotted designs embellish the cuffs. Thor's hammers were worn as religious amulets throughout the Viking era, usually made of silver and usually hung on silver chains such as this example! Some even made it to the Christian era; there is a famous example of a Thor's hammer amulet from Fossi, Iceland, that has been turned into a cross. Size of pendant: 1.8" L x 1.3" W (4.6 cm x 3.3 cm); of pendant with suspension ring and cuffs: 4.1" L x 1.3" W (10.4 cm x 3.3 cm); of strand: 28.5" L (72.4 cm); silver quality: 90.7 to 98.571%; total weight: 105.3 grams
  
  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. These are found in great quantities throughout the British Isles and the Nordic countries. What was the meaning of such hoards? Were they treasures buried for safe keeping, perhaps by people fleeing violence who did not wish to travel with heavy loads and who died or forgot before they could retrieve them? Or does their presence in rivers suggest votive deposits, gifts and offerings to spirits who lived in the water?
  
  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
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
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  #176889

  Condition

  Ancient pendant, suspension ring, and cuffs strung on modern chain to be wearable. Some light bending, nicks, and abrasions, all commensurate with age. Otherwise, intact and wearable with nice remaining decoration and gilding. Rich patina in areas.
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