Lot 130
Northern Europe/Central Asia, Viking period, Russia (Kievan Rus), ca. 10th to 11th century CE. An opulent cruciform pendant, hammered from nearly solid gold - over 23 karats - and featuring a central cabochon of a polished semi-precious stone in hue of dark gray-blue, reminiscent of the cloudy Scandanavian sky. Each arm flaring outward into rounded terminals, the cross is decorated with circular stamps that line its periphery, as well as impressed triangles on each arm. All is surmounted by a folded-over gold loop and a delicately-coiled gold wire that forms a suspension loop for wearing on a necklace. Size: 1" W x 1.6" H (2.5 cm x 4.1 cm); gold quality: 96.89% (equivalent to over 23 karats); weight: 4.3 grams
Found in a field in Kalingrad, now Russia, in the 1950s CE, this gorgeous cross is a relic from one of the most momentous events in northern European history: the conversion of Germanic peoples from paganism to Christianity. The Vikings were some of the last holdouts in an increasingly Christian Europe, and the Vikings who had settled in western Russia saw many missions throughout the 9th and 10th centuries. Christian Slavonic sources somewhat hysterically decried the entrenched paganism of these people, and further contact between members of the Rus and Christians were recorded throughout the early 10th century, with members of the Byzantine court taken by the ruling regent of Rus, Olga of Kiev, who came to visit the Emperor Constantine VII and left with a bishop and priests from Rome. Paganism was once again brought to the forefront by Olga's grandson, Vladimir the Great, who had an idol to the chief deity, Perun, placed on a hill by his palace. However, he was a final holdout, and in the year 986 or 987, he spoke with representatives of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam (supposedly rejecting the latter because of their restriction on alcohol) and, in exchange for a Byzantine bride and a military alliance, he was baptized as a Christian and exhorted his people into the Dnieper River at Kiev for a mass baptism. This is marked as the true end of paganism for the people who were once Vikings in Russia, and this cross is a beautiful reminder of their new devotion.
Provenance: private Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA collection, acquired via Artemis Gallery, Louisville, Colorado, USA on June 28th, 2017, lot 48A; ex-New York, USA collection
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#183812
- Condition: Some light bending to gold, as expected with age, but none affecting overall form. Otherwise, intact and in excellent condition. Wearable as a pendant.
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