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A Viking Sword With Ulfberht Inscription image 1
A Viking Sword With Ulfberht Inscription image 2
A Viking Sword With Ulfberht Inscription image 3
Lot 142

A Viking Sword With Ulfberht Inscription
9th/10th Century

Amended
27 November 2013, 13:00 GMT
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £6,250 inc. premium

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A Viking Sword With Ulfberht Inscription
9th/10th Century

In excavated condition and retaining the river-bed accretions from the pommel, with tapering double-edged blade (inscription illegible) retaining remains of scabbard lining on both sides at the forte, hilt comprising thick ovoidal cross-piece and two-piece 'tea-cosy' pommel overlaid with fine close-set vertical silver and copper lines (losses), and flat tapering tang retaining its wooden grip-scales; together with a copper cooking pot in excavated condition, with iron swing handle (4)
80.2 cm. blade, 95.8 cm. overall

Footnotes

Provenance:
Believed to have been found in the River Danube in Germany

Petersen's Type X. For a sword with an Ulfberht inscription see Ian Peirce, Swords Of The Viking Age, 2002, pp. 124-125; and another formerly in the E.A. Christensen Collection and sold in these Rooms, Antique Arms and Armour ..., 28 November 2012, lot 54

Viking swords with Ulfberht inscriptions have been found across Europe, Scandinavia, Britain and Russia. It is thought that the name is either that of a long-lived family manufactory or a group of closely associated workshops, the possible origin being Frankland, in the area of modern Solingen. One hundred and twenty-two examples were identified by Alfred Geibig in his highly detailed survey published in 1991

For a synopsis of Geibig's work and a further analytical study of the subject see Michael R. Gorman, 'Ulfbreht: Innovation and Imitation in Early Medieval Swords', The Sixteenth Park Lane Arms Fair Guide, February 1999, pp. 7-12

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