RARE VIKING SILVER NECKLACE WITH BEADS AND AMULETS

Ca. 900 AD. Viking Age. A rare silver necklace made of a single string of oval silver beads decorated with a dotted pattern. The necklace also comprises two amulets in the form of Mjölnir, Thor's hammer; five oval pendants with granulated decoration, a cross, and the face of Odin in the lower registry; and five flat disc-shaped pendants with granulated coiled, floral, and geometric decoration. Thor's hammer pendants were worn as religious amulets throughout the Viking era; they were usually made of silver and hung on silver chains. Thor was a prominent Norse god and his Mjölnir is depicted in Norse mythology as one of the most fearsome weapons, capable of levelling mountains. Though generally recognised and depicted as a hammer, Mjölnir is sometimes referred to as an axe or club. As regards Odin, from the earliest times Odin was a war god, and he appeared in heroic literature as the protector of heroes, fallen warriors joined him in Valhalla. As pendants and amulets occupied a special place among the Viking jewellery and they were worn mostly as amulets for protection, this necklace might have been worn by a Viking warrior for protection against dangers in battle. Though the Christianisation of the Vikings marks the end of the Viking Age, the introduction of Christianity to Scandinavia progressed slowly since the 8th century AD, and the Viking art forms reflect the process in a gradual inclusion of Christian motifs through these centuries (Graham-Campbell 2013, 10). Therefore, we find several examples of syncretism between Christian and Norse symbols in Viking Art (see Graham-Campbell 2013, 178-186), like in this case, where a cross is juxtaposed to Odin's face. To find out more about the Vikings and their art, see Graham-Campbell, J. (2013). Viking Art. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. For more information on Viking Jewellery, see Arbman, H. (1940). Birka I Die Gräber. Uppsala and Hubbard, B. (2016) The Viking Warrior. Amber Books Ltd, London, 61-65.Size: L:320mm / W:47mm; 95gProvenance: Property of a European collector, previously acquired from a collection of Mr. Ø. T. in Denmark in 2016.