**Originally Listed At $500**
Northern Europe, Scandinavia, pre-Viking period (often called Migration period or Germanic Iron Age), ca. 6th to 7th century CE. An elegant bracteate pendant, made from 98% silver. Shaped like a round shield with a raised central boss, one face is studded with incredibly intricate, delicate silver granulated geometric motifs. The other face is undecorated. The top has a folded-over loop, added at some later (but still ancient) date as a repair or addition. A modern cord is through this, making the piece wearable as a necklace today. Pendants like this one were made to be worn around the neck as a type of amulet or sewn onto clothing, and were frequently made of melted down coinage traded north from the Mediterranean. Size: 1.15″ W (2.9 cm); length of modern cord: 20″ L (50.8 cm); silver quality – 98%; 3.8 grams
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
