8th C. Viking 21K+ Gold Pendant w/ Cabochon Garnets
Northern/Eastern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 8th to 10th century CE. An opulent pendant of a delicate form shaped from a hammered sheet of 94.2% gold (equivalent to 22K+). The obverse face is decorated with thin 91.5% gold (equivalent to 21K+) wires which form a spiraling peripheral border, five circular frames, and a three-layered concentric circle adorned with dozens of petite twisted-wire ringlets. Set within squat bezels are five garnet cabochons of warm crimson hues that provide a chromatic contrast to the yellow gold, and four wire lemniscuses encircle the central cabochon. Delicate gold items were the ultimate symbol of wealth and status in Viking-age Europe, and Viking examples like this pendant often come from easternmost reaches of their colonized lands in modern-day western Russia and eastern Europe. Size (pendant): 1.625" W x 1.75" H (4.1 x 4.4 cm); (necklace strand): 21.75" L (55.2 cm); quality of gold: between 91.5 and 94.2% (equivalent to 21K+ to 22K+); total weight: 11.1 grams.
Provenance: ex-private Johnson collection, Houston, Texas, USA, acquired before 2013 via family descent
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 to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#153368 Dimensions: Condition Report: Wearable as shown. Slight bending to overall form of pendant body, peripheral wire border, bezels, and suspension loop, with light encrustations within some recessed areas of obverse, and minor abrasions to verso, otherwise intact and excellent. Great patina throughout.
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Northern/Eastern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 8th to 10th century CE. An opulent pendant of a delicate form shaped from a hammered sheet of 94.2% gold (equivalent to 22K+). The obverse face is decorated with thin 91.5% gold (equivalent to 21K+) wires which form a spiraling peripheral border, five circular frames, and a three-layered concentric circle adorned with dozens of petite twisted-wire ringlets. Set within squat bezels are five garnet cabochons of warm crimson hues that provide a chromatic contrast to the yellow gold, and four wire lemniscuses encircle the central cabochon. Delicate gold items were the ultimate symbol of wealth and status in Viking-age Europe, and Viking examples like this pendant often come from easternmost reaches of their colonized lands in modern-day western Russia and eastern Europe. Size (pendant): 1.625" W x 1.75" H (4.1 x 4.4 cm); (necklace strand): 21.75" L (55.2 cm); quality of gold: between 91.5 and 94.2% (equivalent to 21K+ to 22K+); total weight: 11.1 grams.
Provenance: ex-private Johnson collection, Houston, Texas, USA, acquired before 2013 via family descent
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 to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#153368 Dimensions: Condition Report: Wearable as shown. Slight bending to overall form of pendant body, peripheral wire border, bezels, and suspension loop, with light encrustations within some recessed areas of obverse, and minor abrasions to verso, otherwise intact and excellent. Great patina throughout.
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