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LOT 1697
Anglo-Saxon Gilt-Bronze Purse Mount in the Shape of a Bird of Prey
CIRCA 500-600 A.D.
1 1/2 in. (3.27 grams, 40 mm).
Openwork appliqué comprising a horizontal panel with chip-carved undulating bar, above, the arched neck of a bird with hooked beak and circular cell for the eye, the beak connected to a vertical claw; beneath, body curved into a loop with the leg joining the median panel below the claw, lateral pierced attachment spur; eye with calcareous fill. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFound Bishopstone, Seaford, Lewes, East Sussex, UK, in 2023.
Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.SUSS-33C6E1.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1697
Anglo-Saxon Gilt-Bronze Purse Mount in the Shape of a Bird of Prey
Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
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Anglo-Saxon Bronze Entwined Serpent Mount
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
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. -
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Long Brooch
Circa 6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
Comprising a rectangular headplate with raised trapezoidal panel, shallow bow, horse-head footplate with catch to reverse; repaired from parts. 16.4 grams, 83 mm
From the collection of a Buckinghamshire, UK, collector established from the earlier 1960s. -
'The Stathern' Anglo-Saxon Enamelled Bronze Hanging Bowl Mount with Millefiori Inlays
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £546
Discoid and hollow to the reverse with raised rim and suspension hook base; panel of seven La Tène spirals with an enamelled field, commas between, central raised ring with three equally spaced millefiori glass inlays; extremely rare. 11.60 grams, 40 mm
Found whilst searching with a metal detector near Stathern, Leicestershire, UK, in February 2005. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Such mounts are found on hanging bowls mainly in 6th-7th century Anglo-Saxon princely or royal burials. They probably formed part of the so-called 'economy of prestige' in which decorative high-status tableware and feasting equipment circulated among the leading families of the various British and Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. A number of these items have been found in 7th century burial mounds such as Sutton Hoo (Suffolk), Prittlewell (Essex) and Benty Grange (Derbyshire). The decoration and manufacturing techniques suggest an origin among the late Romano-British groups of western and northern Britain.
