Lot 30
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Northern Europe, Viking culture, ca. 8th to 10th century CE. A striking cast rectangular 92-95% silver brooch featuring six raised wolf heads on a background of Celtic trefoil and cross symbols; held in place with nails at the center are two raised quatrefoils, also of silver. The remains of a clasp are on the back of the brooch, which would have once had a pin to close it. Size: 0.7" L x 1.8" W (1.8 cm x 4.6 cm); silver is 92-95%; 38.1 grams
The wolf heads are similar to one found on a terminal of a pin or brooch belonging to a Viking woman found near Gudum on western Zealand, Denmark; they may represent Fenrir, a monstrous wolf famous in Norse mythology. He was the son of the god Loki and giantess Angrboda. The other gods bound Fenrir out of fear of his size. At Ragnarok, the end of the world, Fenrir ate the most prominent god, Odin. This story of god death seems to have been a major inspiration for northern pagan people grappling with Christianity, and Fenrir is a common theme of Viking artwork that features both Norse and Christian themes.
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
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#151362
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Condition:
Pin is lost. One of the quatrefoils is slightly loose. Nice patina on all surfaces with beautiful preservation of motifs and light deposits in the lower profile areas.
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