34
VIKING BATTLE AXE WITH INSCRIBED BLADE
1/7
Description
c. 900-1100 AD. Viking age. An excellent example of an iron bearded axehead with a heavy, curved blade, a subtriangular socket and rectangular flanges. Incised letters on the head may relate the name of the original owner or convey a message of protection from the gods. The item is mounted on a custom-made stand. The bearded axe, or Skeggøx (from Old Norse Skegg, "beard", and øx, "axe") was common from the 6th century AD onwards in Scandinavia, but made most famous by the Vikings, who used these axes in battle to terrible effect. Bearded axes are named for the fact that the main part of the axe blade extends below the butt of the axe, creating a large cutting blade and allowing a fighter to hook onto the shields or weapons of his (or her) opponents. Further information on axes of this type can be found in H. Arbman, Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940. Excellent condition. Size: L:175mm / W:140mm ; 700g. Provenance: From an old British collection formed in the 1990s; previously acquired in Germany.
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c. 900-1100 AD. Viking age. An excellent example of an iron bearded axehead with a heavy, curved blade, a subtriangular socket and rectangular flanges. Incised letters on the head may relate the name of the original owner or convey a message of protection from the gods. The item is mounted on a custom-made stand. The bearded axe, or Skeggøx (from Old Norse Skegg, "beard", and øx, "axe") was common from the 6th century AD onwards in Scandinavia, but made most famous by the Vikings, who used these axes in battle to terrible effect. Bearded axes are named for the fact that the main part of the axe blade extends below the butt of the axe, creating a large cutting blade and allowing a fighter to hook onto the shields or weapons of his (or her) opponents. Further information on axes of this type can be found in H. Arbman, Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940. Excellent condition. Size: L:175mm / W:140mm ; 700g. Provenance: From an old British collection formed in the 1990s; previously acquired in Germany.
ANCIENT JEWELLERY, WEAPONRY AND CLASSICAL ART
Sale Date(s)
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25 Bury Place
Bloomsbury
London
WC1A 2JH
United Kingdom
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