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LOT 1357
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Entwined Serpent Mount
6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 in. (10.9 grams, 46 mm).
With openwork design of two serpents interlaced, each with billeted body and lentoid eyes, ropework border to the shorter sides; old collector's accession numbers to the underside '91.115' and '15871'. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK collection formed 1970s-1990s.
Ex property of an English gentleman.
Cf. West, S., A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998, item 56(2), for type.
FootnotesThe decorative pattern of this mount is similar to what, according to S. West, is an Anglo-Saxon die found in Suffolk, where legless animal forms are represented lying head to tail, with beaded bodies within a beaded border. Also here the animals are showing interlaced jaws and headed bodies, all contained in a border.
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LOT 1357
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Entwined Serpent Mount
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
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'The Scampton' Published Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Florid Cruciform Brooch
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,050
Of Martin's Group 4 with rectangular headplate and florid face-masks to the three edges and conical eyes, deep bow with with square central panel, footplate with square lateral lappets, triangular face-mask finial with conical eyes; pin-lug and catchplate to the reverse; gilded surface abraded. 182 grams, 17 cm
Found Scampton, Lincolnshire, UK. From the private collection of Alan Harrison, circa 2000. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11898-204375.
The florid type of cruciform brooch stands at the end of the series and probably dates to the middle of the 6th century according to the most recent discussion (Martin, 2015). The present example has a close parallel in the find from Duston, Northamptonshire, which Martin assigns to his Type 4.7.1, among the very last (or most fully developed) group in the seriation. The headplate, bow and footplate each have a square panel of Style I zoomorphic ornament within a thick frame; the headplate features blocks of billeting to three edges and punched triangular ornament on the frame, which also appears on the lateral edges of the finial. The conical eyes on the facing masks are an unusual and very distinctive feature which would have made casting the brooch a technical challenge. There is some evidence for silvering on the flat rectangular surfaces (T-shaped on the headplate and rectangular on the lappets and finial). The openwork masks on the headplate develop into profile bird-heads. This brooch was recovered by a metal-detectorist in several pieces over a period of some years, and re-assembled. It was published by Leahy in his authoritative work on the Kingdom of Lindsey. -
Anglo-Saxon Nummular Disc Brooch
6th-9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Displaying a stylised regardant beast standing within a raised geometric border, punched ring-and-dot eye and detailing; remains of pin lug and catchplate to reverse. 6.19 grams, 28 mm
Acquired on the UK market, 1990s. Property of a retired academic. -
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Zoomorphic Strap End
Circa 9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Thomas Class A Type 1, broadly rectangular in plan with tapering arms; the decorative scheme is divided into three: the snout with pronounced ears; a central panel of Trewhiddle style interlaced beast with some remains of niello; the tail with two circular rivet holes. 4.5 grams, 36 mm
Found Berkshire, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.BERK-28A953.
