11th C. Viking Gilded Silver Brooches - Animal Heads

**Originally Listed At $7500**

Northern Europe, specifically Gotland, Sweden, Viking world, ca. 1000 to 1100 CE. A pair of near-identical, richly gilded, 75% silver animal-head brooches with attached backplates. The body of each brooch is formed as a cast, hollow, animal-head shape with upstanding ears and a slightly raised end to the muzzle that follows a narrow raised band separating the face into two panels. Both those and the upper panel (between the "ears") are decorated with interlaced ornament in low relief that is beautifully gilded. These depict serpents locked in combat with each other, their bodies dramatically entwined. On the gilded panels are complex swirling motifs of serpent-like creatures; on the raised silver faces are interlocking abstract motifs; and incised on the backplates are symmetrical interlocking serpents. The backplate is attached to the upper part/sides by small silver pegs, and on it is a hinged pin with an integral catch-plate. Size: 2.1" W x 1.1" H (5.3 cm x 2.8 cm); silver is 75% pure; total weight of both together is 109.3 grams

Box-shaped (sometimes "tortoise-shaped") and hollow animal-head shaped brooches were created on the island of Gotland, Sweden, although they occasionally have been found in other parts of the Viking world. They were made to be worn in pairs on the chest of women's cloaks with chains suspended between them, and are found in women's burials. These would have been treasured items, denoting the wealth and status of the woman who wore them.

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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#146696
Condition Report: The forms of both are excellent, with some light scratching on surface commensurate with age. Both have faint blue patina on limited parts of the exposed silver faces, the result of the deposition process and the copper in the silver alloy. Two of the silver pegs are missing from the back of one and both have their pins and clasps frozen in place. Excellent preservation of gilding and motifs.