Scandinavian ancient Viking pendant. Borre–Jelling type, late 9th or 10th century.

Gilt-silver openwork pendant showing a stylized face surmounting a trefoil interlace with six loops. The interlace bears a double-outlined ribbon design with bilateral symmetry, emblematic of the Borre–Jelling vocabulary at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. The mask grows out of the interlace and shows a round head with pellet eyes beneath a continuous brow. The mouth is reduced and topped by a crescent-shaped moustache. Its features and placement support a 10th-century date, with parallels in Scandinavia and eastern England.

The reverse is convex with a homogeneous ancient casting skin, indicative of lost-wax casting. In the Borre style, animal motifs are often shown frontally, very elongated, and intertwine and hook into the ornament. The Jelling style introduces profile representations and human masks. Our pendant fits perfectly at the transition between these two styles.
Consulted works:
· Viking Artefacts - A Select Catalogue, Graham-Campbell, British Museum Press, 1980.
· Viking Art, Wilson D. M., 2008.
· Viking Art, Graham-Campbell, Thames & Hudson, rev. 2013.