RARE VIKING THOR'S HAMMER PENDANT WITH GOLD INLAY

Ca. 800-1000 AD. Viking. A beautiful silver Mjölnir ("Lightning," Thor's mighty hammer) pendant of extraordinary size with gold inlays. The gold inlays depict fire or lightning, important attributes of Thor, the hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, and storms. For the Scandinavians, just as thunder was the embodiment of Thor, lightning was the embodiment of his hammer. This type of hammer pendant was common in the Viking world and have been found chiefly in south and central Scandinavia, but also as far as Iceland, England, and Poland. Mjölnir pendants gave people strength and protection against dangers. Vikings wore both wooden and metal Mjölnir pendants, often along with other necklaces. At the end of the Viking era, it was not unusual to wear both the Christian cross and a Mjölnir pendant. For more information on Viking jewellery, see Arbman, H. (1940). Birka I Die Gräber. Uppsala. & Hubbard, B. (2016) The Viking Warrior. Amber Books Ltd, London, 61-65.Size: L:73mm / W:34mm; 38g. Provenance: Property of a European collector, formerly acquired from a gallery in Germany in 1994. A copy of the original invoice will accompany the purchase.