8th-9th century AD. An Oseberg style silver plate brooch in the form of a recumbent gripping beast enmeshed in loops of three-band knotwork forming the limbs; pin lug and catch on the reverse. See Fell, C., Foote, P., Graham-Campbell, J. and Thompson, R., The Viking Age in the Isle of Man, London, 1981, p.71, fig.11, for type.10 grams, 52mm (2"). Property of a Lancashire gentleman; previously in a German collection; formerly the property of a European gentleman living in Germany; acquired in the 1980s; accompanied by an old detailed cataloguing slip. The Oseberg style, also known as the Broa or Early Viking style, is characterised by representations of gripping beasts and was widespread from the end of the 8th century to the middle of the 9th century. The style became known following the discovery of a ship grave in Oseberg, on the shores of the Oslofjord, Norway. Beasts such as this, made from metal or carved in wood, were depicted on items of every-day use. Famously, they are also found in the carved ornament of the Oseberg ship itself. [No Reserve]