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Ottoman Silver Floral Hairpin-c. late 16th Century
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European Medieval:
Pre 1700 item# 800497
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
$625.00
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This complete piece is an attractive silver hairpin that dates circa late 16th Century ( circa 1560-1590 A.D.). This piece is Ottoman Empire and was likely made in Constantinople, otherwise known as Byzantium. The Byzantine Empire derived it's name from this city, and the floral pattern seen at the terminal end of this piece, is a design pattern that is a Byzantine type as well. The Ottomans adopted this pattern, and is often seen on Ottoman polychrome Iznik tiles from the 16th Century. This piece was worn in the hair and has a loop at the top so that it tied to the body. This piece can easily be worn today in the hair or garmet. This piece is approximately 5.7 inches long, 17.5 grams, and is about 97% pure silver. Interestingly, the weight of this piece is also analogous to the ancient Greek "Attic-Greco Weight Standard" of 17.5 grams for a silver tetradrachm. This piece has some minor wear seen at the top that indicates long use. A custom stand is included and the piece can easily be removed. Ex: Private New York collection. I certify that this piece is authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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Extremely Rare Viking Iron Helmet and Shield Boss
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Antiques:
Regional Art:
Ancient World:
European Medieval:
Pre AD 1000 item# 819302
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Apolonia Ancient Art
303-321-7351 gallery
Price on Request
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The pieces offered here are extremely rare, and are a Viking helmet and shield boss. The principle reason why these two pieces are extremely rare is that both of these pieces are in superb condition and are made of iron, and ancient armour made from iron generally deteriorates very rapidly, especially if it was buried in soil that has a great deal of mineralization. These pieces were likely found in sandy alluvial soil, as they are both in exceptional superb condition and compare with the finest iron weapons for the period. There are also spotty mineral deposits seen in sections of these pieces, along with some iron oxides. (For additional iron weapons for the period, see "Arms & Armour of the Medieval Knight, An Illustrated History of Weaponry in the Middle Ages" by David Edge and John Paddock, Crescent Bokks Pub., New York, 1996.) These pieces date circa 9th-10th century A.D., and are early examples for the type. These pieces were reportedly found together in modern day Russia, circa 1960's, in the Volgar River region, near Muron, east of Moscow. (This information is by no means certain, but based on our research, this information is likely the case.) Muron was a Swedish Viking settlement that flourished circa 9th-11th century A.D., and it was centered in a key region that was a staging area for the Viking river routes. These river routes were extensively exploited far south to the Black Sea, and there are some academics that think that it was this culture and this Viking trading system that gave rise to the modern state of Russia. (For an overview of these Swedish Viking settlements see "Europe Between the Oceans by Barry Cunliffe, Yale University Press Pub., 2008, pp.468-472.) Both of the pieces offered here are complete and have very little repair, if any, and were conditioned by the prior owner with a clear coat of wax. The helmet is approximately 7.25 inches high and the shield boss is approximately 6.25 inches in diameter and 4.5 inches high. The helmet was made with four hammered plates that overlap, and this created a very small hole at the conical shaped top where they meet. In "The Viking" by Beril Almgren, ed., Nordbok Pub., 1975, p.221, the following comments reveal a great deal relative to the Viking helmet: "The horned helmets which turn up insistently in films about the Vikings were never even seen, still less worn by them. Only their forefathers in the Bronze Age, some 2000 years earlier, wore horned headgear. A Norwegian helmet from the Viking Age shows the puritanical tendencies of Vikings at work. It is of plain iron without embellishment. Very few complete helmets have been found in Scandinavia: only fragments are known. But a few Russian finds are contemporary specimens of a conical type that is known from the Norsemen's own pictures of themselves - for instance, those shown on the Gotlandic picture-stones and the Bayeux Tapestry." (One such Russian example is from the Prince Jaroslaw Wsewolodowitsch collection, and can be seen in the Armoury of the Moscow Kremlin, inventory no. 4672. This example has also been classified as a "Mongolian Cap" helmet, and many scholars are divided if this helmet type is "Viking" or "Mongolian". What is known is that the "Mongolian Cap" type was derived from the "Viking" type, and both types were made from iron, and in many cases, were contemporary with one another. The reported find spot for the piece offered here, along with the shield boss, point to a "Viking" origin. Another very analogous example that is of the exact size and type was recently offered at auction at Czerny's, Fine Antique Arms & Armour, Sarzana, Italy, May 2006, no. 2110. This piece was classified as being "Central European IX-X Century A.D.", in "superb condition", and a "rare example of medieval armour" with a 12,500.00-14,000.00 Euro estimate.) The shield boss, that is offered with the helmet seen here, was hammered from one solid sheet of iron into its present form, and was attached to a circular wooden shield that was about 25-34 inches in diameter. These wooden shields had a hole in the center with an attached handle that spanned the hole, and the shield boss offered here was attached over this hole in order to protect the hand. This shield boss is known as an "Umbo", and was used to "jam" the opponent in battle, and was a very effective and wicked weapon as it came to a sharp point. This type of wooden shield with this "Umbo" had a great deal of utility, and were also used for protection on the Viking long-boats, as they were hung along the sides of these vessels and provided a layer of protection for the rowers. The helmet has a custom metal stand, and the shield boss hangs on a custom plexiglas stand. Ex: Private Russian collection. Ex: D. Morgan collection, United Kingdom. (Additional documentation is available to the purchaser.) I certify that these pieces are authentic as to date, culture, and condition:
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