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LOT 1213
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Saucer Brooch with Running Spirals
6TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/4 in. (12.4 grams, 32 mm).
Plaque with central pellet and raised pentagon developing to five running spirals; carinated ridge and flared lip; remains of catch and pin-lug to the reverse.
ProvenanceFound Southern England.
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
From an East Anglian private collection.
Cf. MacGregor, A. & Bolick, E., A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-Ferrous Metals), Oxford, 1993, item 2.16, for type.
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Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Buckle Frame with Garnets
Late 5th-early 7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £598
Marzinzik's Type I.6 rectangular loop with thick edges, recessed bar, leaf-shaped garnet to each angle, punched detailing to the carinated ridge. 8.38 grams, 33.8 mm
Found while searching with a metal detector near Micheldever, near Winchester, Hampshire, UK, on Sunday 17th March 2013. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.HAMP-A0905A.
Examples are found in southern and eastern England and date broadly from the sixth century (Marzinzik, 2003, 24-5, pl.16). -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Lozenge-Shaped Brooch with complex Diamond Design
8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £416
Comprising an integral coiled pin-lug and catchplate; panels of gilt geometric 'Greek key' pattern to the upper face. 5.68 grams, 60 mm
Found Sudbury, Suffolk, UK. -
Anglo-Saxon Great Square-Headed Brooch
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,430
Comprising: trapezoidal headplate with beast-head spurs to the upper angles and concentric panels of Style I ornament; shallow bow with central cell and garnet insert; long footplate with lateral lappets and central lozenge; facing mask above a trapezoidal bar finial; pin-lugs and catch to the reverse. 82 grams, 11.5 cm
Found U.K. British private collection, acquired by 2000.
The meaning of the 'facing mask' motif is probably related to the profile masks so frequently used in Style I art, where the 'pellet' eye is enclosed by an arched frame: the 'facing mask' repeats this motif to produce a pair of eyes in a doubled 'bow'. An element of visual 'riddling' is no doubt present: the design is neither one thing nor the other, but includes elements of both. Distribution of great square-headed brooches was initially concentrated along the valleys of the Rivers Trent, Thames and Severn, though it was later confined to the East Midlands and East Anglia (Hines, 1997, figs. 101, 102).