Ca. 900-1100 AD. Viking Age. A solid medieval bronze bracelet decorated with geometric patterns; the terminals of the bracelet are shaped as two snake heads facing each other. Good Condition; beautiful patina. In Viking society, arm rings and bracelets were not merely decorative but served also to mark bonds of loyalty between a lord and his followers in a culture where honour was a matter of life and death. Such items were also given to young men to mark their coming of age and bracelets of precious metals were also used as currency in a time before the widespread availability of coinage. For more information on Viking Jewellery, see Arbman, H. (1940). Birka I Die Gräber. Uppsala. Size: L:52mm / W:70mm ; 45g. Provenance: Property of a London gentleman, formerly with the Parthenon gallery, previously in an old English collection formed in the 1980s