Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 10th century CE. A stunning piece of wearable Viking currency comprised of a lengthy, braided wire chain made from 98% to 99% silver as well as an 86% silver pendant of Mjolnir, the mythical hammer of the thunder god Thor. The thick hammer features a downward-facing triangular head surmounted by a gently tapering handle and a perforated pommel, all embellished along the obverse with applied silver wire spirals and circular rings. Three ringlets and an inverted V on the pommel create an abstract visage that perhaps depicts Odin, the Allfather. Suspending the hammer is a silver wire ring with terminals twisting around the opposite ends. The chain bears hundreds of fine braids as well as five silver support panels that are interspersed along the length, bound tightly with rivets, and stamped with characteristic circular and triangular motifs. An exceptional example of top-tier Viking artistry! Size (hammer): 1.2" W x 1.5" H (3 cm x 3.8 cm); (chain): 30.5" L (77.5 cm); quality of silver: 86% for hammer, 98% to 99% for chain; total weight: 162.6 grams

Small Thor's hammers were worn as religious amulets throughout the Viking era, usually made of silver and usually hung on silver chains. Some even made it to the Christian era; there is a famous example of a Thor's hammer amulet from Fossi, Iceland, that has been turned into a cross. The chain itself, meanwhile, is a style of knitwork done with thin silver wire that seems to have originated with the Vikings. The important Viking metalworking shops correspond to their great trading ports and proto-urban centers - Birka, Helgo, Sigtuna, and Lund in Sweden, Ribe, Haithabu (Hedeby), and Fyrkat in Denmark, and Kaupang and Trondheim in Norway.

Silver was the principal currency of the Viking world, which stretched from Russia to northern Canada at the height of their influence. In many places, the Vikings kept silver not as coins, but as jewelry, a wearable currency form that was not subject to the authority of a monarch or mint. One of the most common archaeological finds from the Viking period is a hoard of metal objects, often buried in the earth or deposited in bodies of water, like riverbeds. These are found in great quantities throughout the British Isles and the Nordic countries.

This piece has been searched against the Art Loss Register database and has been cleared. The Art Loss Register maintains the world’s largest database of stolen art, collectibles, and antiques.

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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#164131

Wearable as shown. Chain, suspension ring, and hammer pendant are all professionally cleaned. Light encrustations within some chain braids and on hammer pendant, with slight bending to overall form of chain and suspension ring, small indentations to panels on chain, and softening to some geometric motifs, otherwise intact and excellent. Fabulous patina throughout.