10th-early 11th century AD. A double-edged cutting sword of Petersen Type S variant and Wheeler Type III with long tapering blade, battle nicks to the cutting edges, shallow tapering fullers and traces of copper inlay to the blade; boat-shaped lower guard and upper guard with silver inlaid Ringerike decoration, massive three-lobed pommel with similar decoration, the lobes separated by inlaid silver bands; traces of gilding to blade suggests that it was probably inscribed. See Petersen, J., De Norske Vikingsverd, Oslo, 1919; Oakeshott, R.E., The Archaeology of the weapons, London, 1960; Peirce, I., Swords of the Viking Age, Suffolk, 2002; Marek, L., Early Medieval Swords from Central and Eastern Europe: Dilemmas of an Archaeologist and a Student of Arms, Wroc?aw, 2005; the sword has good parallels in various similar Viking age specimens, like the sword from Mixnam’s pit, Chertsey, today at the Chertsey Museum (Peirce, 2002, pp.98ff.).1.6 kg, 90cm (35 1/2"). Property of an East Anglian collector; formerly acquired on the European art market in the 1990s; accompanied by an archaeological report by military specialist Dr. Raffaele D’Amato; this lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by AIAD certificate number no.10391-169272. The Type S was often characterised by splendid decoration achieved with silver and copper inlays. It was usually made by using silver wire, which was wound around copper wire and then hammered into place upon base metal, which had been prepared with a scored surface to secure the overlay. The design was then bordered by fine copper wires. Although this sword would be classified as a type S, the slight curvature of the lower guard makes it a variant of the classical form of this typology, possibly even showing Anglo-Saxon influence from type L.