Viking Silver Bracteate Pendant - Floral Motif - 5.9 g

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All That Glitters | Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 10, 2020

Set Reminder 2020-12-10 12:00:00 2020-12-10 12:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : All That Glitters | Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/all-that-glitters-ancient-ethnographic-6192
Think glass, silver, gold, bronze, brass, wearable, decorative, worth owning! Unique finds from Egypt, Greece, Italy, the Near East. Asian art from east to west. Pre-Columbian. Spanish Colonial. Fabulous Russian Icons with silver oklads. Ancient / Ethnographic jewelry, and more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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• Lot Description
  Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 9th to 10th century CE. A stunning bracteate pendant comprised of 97% silver. The discoid body is meticulously decorated with granules forming a floral or starburst pattern. At the center is a raised granulated boss. This is followed by a band of diamond motifs followed by two concentric staggered bands of triangles that create the petals or rays. The contiguous loop above is also decorated with granules and a filigreed border. A modern cord is threaded through to make the piece wearable as a necklace. Pendants like this one were made to be worn around the neck as a type of amulet or sewn onto clothing. Size: 1.56" L x 1.25" W (4 cm x 3.2 cm); cord measures 21.5" L (54.6 cm); quality of silver: 97%; weight of pendant: 5.9 grams
  
  Filigree and granulation are among the oldest goldsmithing techniques. The techniques involved include twisting silver wires and soldering incredibly tiny beads comprised of the same precious metal onto the surface of the piece of jewelry. This very complicated technique requires painstaking attention to detail that relatively few jewelers have ever mastered. Ancient civilizations such as the Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Etruscans developed the methodology; filigreed and granulated jewelry continued to be popular in the Roman empire, and was also sought after by the Slavs, Anglo-Saxons, and Vikings, remaining popular throughout the Middle Ages. In fact, modern jewelers still utilize these ancient goldsmithing techniques.
  
  Many Vikings did not have a standard minted currency available to them; instead they kept their wealth in the form of jewelry made from precious metals. Scholars believe that a popular practice was to amass a hoard of these objects and then deposit them, often in water sources like rivers.
  
  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.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #160374

  Condition

  Pinhole perforation through the right side, but difficult to discern from the front. Pendant has been professionally cleaned, with very slight bending to overall form. Well preserved granulation and nice patina. Strung in modern times on a modern cord and wearable.
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