Viking Knitted Silver Necklace w/ Rose Quartz Pendant
Northern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 10th to 11th century CE. An exquisite, high-grade silver (99% silver) necklace composed of a trichinopoly knitted into a lengthy chain which terminates at an elongated cast terminal with abstract circular and linear motifs. At its base is a series of rings and loops, all made of thin silver wire, some twisted together, with a gorgeous polished but still naturally-shaped large rose quartz pendant hanging from the lowest loop. Further silver wire wraps around the top of the pendant, securing it tightly to the necklace. A remarkable, striking piece of jewelry! Length of chain: 28" L (71.1 cm); size of crystal: 1.75" W (4.4 cm); silver is 99%; total weight: 121.8 grams
The use of quartz immediately calls to mind the Visby lenses, found in 11th to 12th century CE Viking graves on the island of Gotland, Sweden. These are rock crystal (quartz) carved and smoothed to create a parabola - possibly a lens used as a type of telescope, although this has been hotly debated by scientists. This rounded crystal pendant, however, was just intended to be for decoration.
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 to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#153993
Condition Report: Chain has a few tiny losses but overall is in excellent condition. All surfaces have great deposits on them. Although this would be wearable, we caution that ancient silver can become brittle and may break.
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Northern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 10th to 11th century CE. An exquisite, high-grade silver (99% silver) necklace composed of a trichinopoly knitted into a lengthy chain which terminates at an elongated cast terminal with abstract circular and linear motifs. At its base is a series of rings and loops, all made of thin silver wire, some twisted together, with a gorgeous polished but still naturally-shaped large rose quartz pendant hanging from the lowest loop. Further silver wire wraps around the top of the pendant, securing it tightly to the necklace. A remarkable, striking piece of jewelry! Length of chain: 28" L (71.1 cm); size of crystal: 1.75" W (4.4 cm); silver is 99%; total weight: 121.8 grams
The use of quartz immediately calls to mind the Visby lenses, found in 11th to 12th century CE Viking graves on the island of Gotland, Sweden. These are rock crystal (quartz) carved and smoothed to create a parabola - possibly a lens used as a type of telescope, although this has been hotly debated by scientists. This rounded crystal pendant, however, was just intended to be for decoration.
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 to most countries and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
#153993
Condition Report: Chain has a few tiny losses but overall is in excellent condition. All surfaces have great deposits on them. Although this would be wearable, we caution that ancient silver can become brittle and may break.
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Time, Location
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