Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Sweden, Gotland, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 10th century CE. A breathtaking set of 38 fishtail pendants of hollow, conical forms shaped from nearly-pure (98.98%) silver, each with tapered bodies, flat bases, and forked - or 'fishtail' - upper tips. The obverse sides of each pendant is decorated with groups of triangular stamps, each containing three stippled dots in characteristic Viking fashion. Though intimidating upon first glance, the pointed upper terminals of each pendant are not very sharp to the touch and can be worn on bare skin with comfort. Areas of both lustrous and matte patina envelop each of the slender pendants and create an incredibly attractive and sophisticated presentation that was perhaps worn by dignitaries and aristocrats as a form of wearable currency and prestige. Size of each pendant (all are relatively similar): 1.2" L x 0.4" W (3 cm x 1 cm); (necklace w/ strands): 38.5" L (97.8 cm); quality of silver: 98.98%; total weight (including stringing): 187.5 grams.

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 river beds.

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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#165059

Wearable as shown. Silver fishtail pendants are ancient, and stringing is modern. Pendants cannot be separated from stringing for accurate weighing. Pendants have been professionally cleaned in modern times. Each pendant has light abrasions and minor encrustations within some stamped details.