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Viking jewelry

Viking jewelry starring in March 4 online auction  

Tom Hoepf
Tom Hoepf
Viking jewelry
Viking heart ring, circa 900-1050 A.D., size 9½, professionally refurbished with the gold overlay restored. Estimate: $275-$325. Jasper52 image

NEW YORK – Jasper52 will conduct an online auction of nearly 100 lots of Viking, ancient and medieval jewelry on Wednesday, March 4. The jewelry dates back to the 8th-15th centuries when the Vikings sailed the sea and roamed the land. Included are rings, sorcerer’s amulets and pendants that hold symbolic meaning in their shapes, often embodying the great strength of Viking warriors who bore them. Bid absentee or live online exclusively through LiveAuctioneers.

To Vikings, the heart stood for bravery, fortitude, loyalty and integrity, all attributes of the warrior. A Viking heart ring (above) in the auction features an early form heart bezel. This example is the natural, uncusped form with a notched base and bordered foliate decoration. It is abundantly referenced in Viking literature. This size 9½ ring has a $275-$325 estimate.

Another popular jewelry form among Viking warriors was the battle-ax pendant. Made for ritual use, the Viking votive ax pendant in the Jasper52 auction is over 1,000 years old (est. $750-$900).

Viking jewelry
Viking votive ax pendant, circa 900-1000 A.D., 1½in high, decorated with hound’s tooth and stipple bands, professionally refurbished with the silver overlay restored. Estimate: $750-$900. Jasper52 image

Found in Cambridgeshire, England, a Viking lunar necklace pendant represents the moon and specific stars on which Vikings relied for navigation. The crescent form pendant is lightly textured from having been buried for more than a millennium (est. $225-$275).

Viking jewelry
Viking lunar necklace pendant, circa 870-1050 A.D., professionally refurbished with the silver surface restored. Estimate: $225-$275. Jasper52 image

A burial at Viden, Denmark contained the body of a woman of wealth and status buried with henbane seeds, which have hallucinogenic properties, a wand as well as other objects. From these, archeologists concluded that she was a seeress or sorceress. The grave contained a necklace hung with three duck’s feet pendants very similar to one in the Jasper52 auction (est. $600-$800).

Viking jewelry
Ancient Viking sorcerer’s amulet, 10th-11th century, bronze shaped as a duck’s foot, professionally refurbished with the 24K gold surface restored. Estimate: $600-$800. Jasper52 image

Medieval jewelry is led by a Crusader’s cross made during the 11th-13th centuries. The Jerusalem cross is five crosses in one, representing the five wounds of Christ. It originatied with Godfrey of Bouillon, a Frankish Knight of the First Crusade, known as Baron of the Holy Sepulcher and the Crusader King, ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem following its victorious siege in the First Crusade. This example, silvered bronze, has a $600-$750 estimate.

Viking jewelry
European Crusader’s cross, 11th-13th century, Jerusalem cross with cross potent, refurbished with the silver surface restored on sterling silver neck chain for modern wear. Estimate: $600-$750. Jasper52 image

Professionally refurbished and ready for modern wear, these jewelry pieces are enriched with history as well as beauty.

The auction will be held Wednesday, March 4, starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

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