Northern Europe, Scandinavia, Denmark, Viking or Norse culture, ca. late 9th to 10th century CE. A lengthy necklace chain comprised of several braided, twisted strands of 94% to 96% silver wire that can be worn with any outfit! Dangling from the chain's ring terminals is a rare Jellinge type pendant of convex circular form presenting an abstract zoomorphic creature known as a "gripping beast" due to its tendril-like legs. The creature is surrounded by radiating frets and delicate triangular stamps, and dangling below via 5 suspension rings is a braided triangular emblem. The verso of the pendant has a petite receptacle used for inserting oil-soaked fabric or herbs for personal incense. Size (pendant): 1.95" W x 3.45" H (5 cm x 8.8 cm); (chain): 30.5" L (77.5 cm); silver quality: 94% to 96% for chain, 99% for pendant; total weight: 118.3 grams

This is an incredible piece of wearable artwork and displayed wealth, which in the volatile Viking period often manifested in the form of jewelry made from precious metals, this necklace would have belonged to one of the most elite members of society.

The Jellinge Style (ca. 880 to 1000 CE) refers to a genre of ancient Scandinavian animal art that features stylized zoomorphic forms. Its name is derived from a small cup that was discovered in a royal burial mound at Jellinge, Denmark which was believed to be the burial place of King Gorm. This cup was decorated with S-shaped animals possessing profiled heads, ribbon-like bodies, spiral hips, and curled upper lips.

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.

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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#175641

Professional cleaning to chain and pendant, with light abrasions, softening to finer motifs, light earthen deposits and oxidation in areas, and some pitting, otherwise intact and excellent. Great patina throughout.