Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Interlaced Belt Mount

A large openwork fitting, D-shaped in section with incised running keystone and zigzag to the upper and lower faces; openwork plate waisted in profile and formed as three cells flanked by S-coiled beasts; the upper beasts with one raised three-toed forelimb, D-shaped facing mask with pellet eyes, hatched detailing to the body, tribrach to the shoulder, clubbed tail coiled against the body; the lower beasts similar with anguiform details; the upper and lower cells D-shaped, the central one a lozenge, with a column of a hatched fish between; pierced at the upper corners and lower cell, two lateral pierced attachment lugs; ferrous remains, lug and part of a separate rivetted bronze plate to the reverse. 84 grams, 87 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, UK, from Tuesday 1 January to Wednesday 1 May 2013. with TimeLine Auctions, 23 May 2017, no.494. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) six page report with refence no.DENO-4207C5 and is designated as 'a find of note'. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12077-210997.

This mount is unusual, although its decoration and manufacturing techniques point to an origin in the British Isles in the 7th-9th centuries. Its D-shaped upper face or ledge indicates that it is not the standard flat form of scabbard or harp fitting. The openwork nature of the casting is equally unusual, although the Steeple Bumpstead boss (British Museum accession no. 1916,0705.1) is formed with an openwork frame into which gilt bronze panels have been inserted, and several Irish croziers were manufactured in this manner (Bourke, 1987). The cells were probably intended to accept a glass inset gem, or an ivory or millefiori panel, although the inner panel of the central cell shows signs of having been gilded as if to reflect light through a translucent gem in the same manner as the foils placed behind the garnets on 6th-7th century Anglo-Saxon jewellery and weapon-fittings (Arrhenius, 1985; Carver, 2005). The beasts (especially the upper pair) show strong Irish influence in their design, which is found elsewhere in Northumbrian art in the 8th-9th century as for example on the brow fittings of the Coppergate helmet (Webster & Backhouse, item 47). Similar heads in profile appear on the scabbard chapes from the St. Ninian's Isle Treasure (Wilson, plate IV). The overall design of the piece is tentatively identified with the 'fish flanked by birds' motif seen for example in the Staffordshire Hoard, probably of later 7th century date.

With trapezoidal headplate, shallow bow, narrow triangular foot and pelta-shaped finial, pin-lugs and catch to the reverse; the headplate with (originally silvered) angled panels to the upper corners and D-shaped lug at the middle of the upper edge; rectangular corner panels interrupting a frieze of Salin's Style I face motifs, inner plain band and raised rectangular panel above the junction with the ribbed bow; lappets of Salin's Style I profile heads flanking the junction of the bow with the footplate and vertical bar running to the finial, bisecting a cruciform panel with Salin's Style I zoomorphic forms, and outer plain lobes; finial comprising a disc with four radiating ribbed arms and central boss, pelta-shaped terminal; cleaned and one lateral lobe reattached. 82 grams, 13.8 cm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Dullingham, Cambridgeshire, UK, on Wednesday 4th October 2023, by David Pearson. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.SF-E6203C, and the museum drawings. Accompanied by a copy of a letter from the finder explaining the circumstances of finding. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.12076-211956.

The individual elements of the design have parallels elsewhere in the corpus, and most are very similar to those on a brooch from Nassington (grave 33), pl.94(b) in Hines, 1997. The headplate is very similar in general although the Nassington example shows more punchmarks and tooling, and its lateral lobes and disc finial all bear guilloche detailing whereas those on the present example are plain. Large discoid finials to the footplate are not uncommon (e.g. from Ipswich and Bury St. Edmunds on Hines's pl.58) but the pelta-shaped extension appears to be unique; the ribbed cross in the circle as found on the finial is parallelled by the brooch from Chessel Down (Hines's pl.13(b)).

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'. 10.9 grams, 46 mm



UK collection formed 1970s-1990s. Ex property of an English gentleman.

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.