VIKING AXE PENDANT
Viking Age, Ca. 700–900 AD.
A silver amulet of a stylised hammer with a slightly asymmetrical head and a tapering shaft. This type of amulet is modelled after the axe Molnia and is often seen as a counterpart to the common Mjölnir amulet. Some associate these axe pendants with Perun who was the ruler of the living world, sky and earth who used the axe to kill the snake that stole the earthly light. For more information on Viking jewellery, see Arbman, H. (1940). Birka I Die Gräber. Uppsala & Hubbard, B. (2016) The Viking Warrior. Amber Books Ltd, London, 61-65.
Size: L:245mm / W:mm ; 50g
Provenance: Private London collection since the 1990.
Estimate: GBP 150 - 300