Loading, please wait...
Details
LOT 1718
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'.
Provenance
UK collection formed 1970s-1990s.
Ex property of an English gentleman.
Literature
Cf. West, S., A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998, item 56(2), for type.
Footnotes
The 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.
CONDITIONVETTING:
TimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
TimeLine is a leading auction house specialising in antiquities, ancient art, collectables, natural history, coins, medals, and books. Our auctions offer museums, collectors, historians, and enthusiasts the opportunity to acquire unique and historically significant pieces.
RELATED LOTS
-
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Zoomorphic Strap End
8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Triangular in plan with low-relief beast-head finial, Trewhiddle Style reserved speckled beast; upper end absent. 3.47 grams, 28 mm
Found Yorkshire, UK. -
Large Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Late 5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £6,000 - 8,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £3,000
Comprising a rectangular headplate with outer concentric bands of punched points, inner of Style I animals, raised border, and inner panel of scrolls; bow with three raised vertical ribs; footplate with lateral lappets featuring profile horse-heads; median bar with punched points, lozenge panels with scrolled border and rounded lateral and finial lugs; pin-lugs and catch to the reverse. 83 grams, 13.5 cm
Found Seaham, Co Durham, UK. Property of a Durham private collector. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12982-245110. -
Large Anglo-Saxon Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
Late 5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,940
Comprising a rectangular headplate with outer band of Style I masks, raised border and inner panel of scrolls with two annular cells to accept inlay; shallow bow with raised median rib and corrugated surface, outward facing mask at each end; footplate with lateral lappets featuring profile horse-heads; median bar with central cell, lozenge panels with scrolled border and masks in the lateral lugs; mask at the lower end with raised triangle; scars from pin-lugs and catch to the reverse. 136 grams, 16 cm
Found Seaham, Co Durham, UK. Property of a Durham private collector. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12924-245112.
The brooch seems to belong to the group IV of the great squared brooches. Usually, they have a large 'rampant beast' in the footplate upper borders, and a large mask in the terminal lobe, of rather more varying pattern.
