1044 - An ornate Thor’s hammer on a solid silver foxtail chain, Viking, 10th century.

An ornate Thor’s hammer on a solid silver foxtail chain, Viking, 10th century. A massive, 7-millimeter-wide, intricately crafted foxtail chain made of interlinked wire loops approximately 43 cm in length, the ends of which are inserted over a distance of about 2 cm into conically tapering sleeves made of overlapping silver sheet and secured there with a pin that ends in a flat-hammered head on both sides of the hole. The sleeves are decorated with hallmarks featuring S-shaped spirals, recessed triangles with three raised dots inside, and circular eyes. From the ends of each sleeve protrudes an eyelet made of bent, profiled sheet metal, into which a closed ring with forged ends is set. These two rings are connected by a ring made of twisted silver wires, whose backward-bent ends are hooked together and wrap around the ring in triple-coiled spirals behind it. Hanging from this “knotted” ring is a Thor’s hammer: It consists of three twisted wires, which are still clearly visible on the handle. One wire is longer than the others and bent back at the top into two spiral turns, with the end wrapped two and a half times around the upper part of the handle. The lower part has been hammered flat and forged into the shape of an isosceles triangle with blunt corners. The reverse side is flat; the obverse features triangular puncations along the edge (recessed, with three raised dots within) and a face tapering to a point at the bottom. The edge is surrounded by linear puncations that resemble a halo. The eyes are marked with circular punches, and the nose with an angular punch. The increased appearance of Thor’s hammers in grave goods and hoards from the 10th century is interpreted, on the one hand, as a conservative reaction to Christianization. On the other hand, a Christian interpretation is even being considered, as suggested by some Thor’s hammers with clearly ambiguous symbolism. Against this backdrop, the central face could also be interpreted as the visage of the Savior, even though it is placed on the head of a Thor’s hammer. An exceptionally impressive piece of jewelry from a time of upheaval in the North Germanic cultural sphere, marking the end of the Viking Age and the transition to Christian monarchies. CULTURAL HERITAGE! Provenance: Private collection in southern Germany, acquired in the late 1990s from the collector’s father’s collection. Condition: I -