Northern Europe, Viking or Norse culture, ca. 8th to 11th century CE. A sizable bracelet composed of a single strand of high-quality silver (99% silver) in an exquisite form. The solid band is stamped with a repeating motif of stippled and linear motifs and curves upwards to a quintet of spiraled roundels, each with its own stamped dot-form motifs. The outermost roundels trail off and wrap tightly around the lateral sides and terminate just above the band's midsection. This bracelet was likely created for a man given the overall size; however, it could have been worn by a woman as well. A beautiful and wearable example of fine Viking craftsmanship! Size: 3.625" Diameter (9.2 cm); size of wrist hole: 2.875" H (7.3 cm); quality of silver: 99%; total weight: 92.1 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.

Provenance: private New York, New York, USA collection

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#139046

Wearable as shown. Surface wear and minor abrasions commensurate with age, slight bending to roundels and overall form, with light fading to stamped motifs, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits within recessed areas.