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LOT 0404
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Chip-Carved Mount with Face
6TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 in. (20.8 grams, 39 mm).
Parcel-gilt bell-shaped mount with pierced lug above arched bracket framing two perching birds with long beaks and folded wings, field of granulated lines, curved claws to the lower edge; the whole design forming a stylised human mask.
ProvenanceFound UK.
From the private collection of the late Alexander Cotton, Hampshire, UK.
Cf. MacGregor, A. & Bolick, E., A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-Ferrous Metals), Oxford, 1993, items 25.6-8.
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AUCTIONS:
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Anglo-Saxon and Viking Bronze Artefact Group
6th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Including small-long brooch, glass annular bead, bridle fitting and other items. 47 grams total, 20-51 mm
Ex Stocker collection, Kent, UK, 1955-early 2000s. -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Chip-Carved Mount with Face
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
Parcel-gilt bell-shaped mount with pierced lug above arched bracket framing two perching birds with long beaks and folded wings, field of granulated lines, curved claws to the lower edge; the whole design forming a stylised human mask. 20.8 grams, 39 mm
Found UK. From the private collection of the late Alexander Cotton, Hampshire, UK. -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Great Square-Headed Brooch with Garnet
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
Comprising: trapezoidal headplate with beast-head spurs to the upper angles and concentric panels of Style I ornament with flanking billets; shallow bow with central cell and garnet cloison insert; short footplate with lateral lappets featuring profile masks and central lozenge; facing mask above a trapezoidal bar finial; pin-lugs and catch to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand. 74 grams, 11 cm (126 grams total, 13 cm high including stand)
with ArtAncient Ltd. Private collection, London. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12440-226863.
The meaning of the 'facing mask' motif on the footplate is probably related to the profile masks 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).
