Viking Bronze Dragon Weather Vane Finial. 9th-early 11th century A.D. Finial fragment for a ship's weather vane formed in the round as a stylised hybrid creature with braided mane to the arched neck, pricked ears, convex lentoid eyes and gaping mouth with stub tongue; lanceolate body, carinated in section with low-relief scrolls to the shoulders, slot below and thin plaque with lozengiform stepped tail; mounted on a custom-made stand. Cf. Graham-Campbell, J., Viking Art, London, 2013, items 138-140; for a discussion of Viking-period weather vanes and their re-use as badges of nobility in Normandy, see Engström, J. & Nykänen, P., New Interpretations of Viking Age Weathervanes, in Fornvännen, vol.91, 1996. 104 grams total, 88 mm (92 mm including stand) (3 1/2 in. (3 5/8 in.). Acquired on the London art market, 1990s. Private collection, London.