Ancient Art, Antiquities, Books, Natural History, Stamps & Coins

Of Williams’s Class B Type 3, formed as an openwork tongue-shaped body with a stylised animal head, attachment bar to the reverse. 20.4 grams, 35.4 mm



Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.

Large discoid brooch with deep flange rim, tondo comprising a carinated outer panel with stamped pellet-in-triangle ornament, band of eleven running spirals inner carinated band and central voss; reverse with pin-lug and ferrous remains of the pin, hooked catch; incised concentric rings. 60.4 grams, 54 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Meysey Hampton, Gloucestershire, UK, on 19 July 2020.

It is rare to find a saucer brooch with eleven spirals in the tondo rather than the more usual five or seven, although the Brighthampton example in MacGregor and Bolick (p.42) provides a parallel. The present piece is in many respects similar to the Brighthampton examples, although it has an additional punched band inside the flange rim. The incised rings on the reverse would not normally have been seen in use, and may have been used by the maker to place the catch and lug symmetrically.

Comprising a flat discoid head with low-relief geometric design in four sections, a central knob; one face gilded, similar type to the Witham pins. 14.7 grams, 43.3 mm



Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.

Rectangular with raised border enclosing a low-relief design of entwined stylised animals; four bosses to the obverse. 7.86 grams, 21.9 mm



Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.

Cruciform in plan with central disc pierced with a saltire-shaped void and crenellated border; each radiating arm ending in a mask with centre-parted hair and short beard. 35.7 grams, 60 mm



Private collection, London.

The size and shape of this ornamental cross are evocative of metalwork that would have decorated clothing. However, the fact that the cross does not have a loop on the back suggests that it may not necessarily have been worn, while the ring in the centre and the grooves along that ring suggest that a rope of some sort may have been threaded through. One possibility is that this was a harness mount.

Comprising seven Migration period mounts and one of a later date: a mould with scrolling palmettes within a roped border, possibly used as a model or die for producing repoussé mounts; a mould of a winged figure with human body and lion-like head, with short mane, wide circular eyes, and a gaping mouth, standing with legs akimbo and arms upraised, wearing a kilt with two registers of incised linear decoration, the bare torso with circular nipples, a pair of wings extending from beneath the arms, the feathers demarcated with incised stripes and dots; a mould of a dog crouching in right profile, with fore- and hind-legs bent forward beneath his body, a collar of teardrop-shaped curls across his breast and shoulders, and a short curling tail, the large schematised head, with wide flaring muzzle revealing two rows of sharp teeth and a pointed tongue, decorated with a sweeping pattern of dots and lines; a disc cast with face mask and four arms; a mould of a lion with a human-head in right profile, his long legs tucked forward beneath his body, each with large incised claws, the body and legs decorated with stamped dots, while the head, which is turned frontally, framed by a broad striated mane and long pointed beard, the face with wide circular eyes and open mouth; a belt mount in the form of a pair of addorsed animals with snake ends, with a lozenge in the centre and attachment loops; a mould with scrolling palmettes within a roped border; a mount in the form of a winged lion facing left, its paw upraised, attachment hole at top of wing, of a later date; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 2.66 kg total, 24.5 x 27.8 cm including stand



UK collection, acquired 1970s-1990s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13445-263434.

A mounted group of eight Northern Greek attachments, seven from the Migration period, 7th to 9th century AD, and one probably from a later date. The group of seven was found in Thessalonika around 1911/12. The original group is called the Velestino hoard. The group now owned by a UK private collector (about 60 in total) was owned by the family whose land straddled the Northern Macedonia/ Greece area. They were probably shield mounts, belt mounts or horse harness mounts used by the Eastern Roman army, copying or imitating iconography of the early Slavs who invaded the Balkans in the 7th century A.D.

Domed plate brooch formed as a bird in plan with roundels for eyes, beaded collar, folded wings with linear detailing, ribbed tail; pin-lugs and chord to the underside, remains of catch; ornament in Style II/C, stylistically classified as Mogens Ørsnes’s Type D. 46.6 grams, 77 mm



Private collection formed in Europe in the 1980s. Westminster collection, central London, UK This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.13461-261727.

Brooches of a similar form have been found at a number of Scandinavian sites, including the temple-site at Uppakra (Sweden). Today, many avian brooches are known from Norway alone,- for example, those found at Gålås and Berg østre, both in Hedmark, or the one from Foss nordre in Akershus. A stylised bird with a similar appearance appears on the helmet found in the boat grave Vendel XIV, at Uppland in eastern central Sweden, forming the nasal guard.

Plano-convex in section, the plate formed as a facing bust with rosettes flanking the waist, segmented bulbs forming the lower body; catch and lug to the reverse. 16.2 grams, 45 mm



Ex West Country collection, 1990s.

Decorated with frond detailing to each of the three radiating arms, bilinear frame and central triangular panel; remains of catch and pin-lug to the reverse. 10.5 grams, 37 mm



Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.

Formed in the shape of a stylised horse’s head, or as a tongue-shaped buckle plate with decorative moulded panels, the moulded panels enlivened with a finely detailed incised scroll motif and bordered with beading; four complete and one partially damaged vertical loops on the reverse, along with one surviving vertical loop on the end; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 148 grams total, 14.5 cm high including stand



UK collection, acquired 1970s-1990s.

Formed as a stylised horse's head, the mane clearly delineated and represented by parallel incised lines, the broad face with small elliptical ears, ring-and-dot eyes and flattened muzzle; an elliptical socket hole at the base and a large attachment hole to one side; mounted on a custom-made display stand. 94 grams total, 10.9 cm high including stand



Found near York, UK. Private collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, acquired late 1980s-early 1990s. Private collection, UK.

Domed disc brooch with low-relief Borre style looped tendrils motif, lug and catch to the reverse. 11 grams, 30.5 mm



Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s. From an East Anglian private collection.