Loading, please wait...

Use mousewheel to zoom in and out, click to enlarge

Details

LOT 0370

Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Bronze Mount

LATER 8TH-9TH CENTURY A.D.

1 3/4 in. (2 3/4 in.) (13.1 grams, 44 mm (50.4 grams total, 71 mm high including stand)).

Irregular fragment from a bronze casket mount formed with four discoid panels each filled with dense regularly-displayed foliage and tendrils with lobe finials; central pierced disc with triquetra motifs in the spandrels; accompanied by a custom-made display stand.

Provenance

Found Saxmundham, Suffolk, in the 1980s.
From the collection of Dirk Kennis, Belgium.

Literature

Cf. Hammond, B., British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010; Webster, L. & Backhouse, J., The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, item 138 (Gandersheim), 185.

Footnotes

Details of the decoration recall later 8th century items, such as the lobed tendrils and triquetra motifs on the Franks Casket; the regular disposition of elements recalls a shrine mount from Peterborough (Hammond, 1.12-d) and disc-headed pins (Hammond, 1.10-g, h). Recorded, studied, and determined by the Secretary of State’s Expert Adviser as an object of cultural interest. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) considered an application to export this object. The Committee concluded that the object satisfied the third Waverley criterion and is therefore currently not exportable.

CONDITION

VETTING:

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.

LOT 0370

Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Bronze Mount

Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900

Print page

RELATED LOTS

  • Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Button Brooch with Helmetted Warrior
    Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Button Brooch with Helmetted Warrior
    5th-6th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £143

    Class Ai; broad flange rim and circular frame enclosing a facing male mask with helmet detailing; pin-lug and catch to the reverse. 2.28 grams, 16 mm



    Found Hampshire, UK.

    Lot Details

  • Anglo-Saxon Bronze Artefact Group
    Anglo-Saxon Bronze Artefact Group
    Circa 6th century A.D.

    Sold for (Inc. bp): £39

    Comprising: a pendant formed as a stylised bearded face, large loop above; a cruciform mount with five recessed panels with interlace; pierced through twice. 14.2 grams total, 27-29 mm



    From a 1990s English collection. Property of an Essex gentleman.

    Lot Details

  • Anglo-Saxon Great Square-Headed Brooch
    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).

    Lot Details

Stay up-to-date with the latest from TimeLine Auctions by joining our mailing list