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LOT 0410
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Great Square-Headed Brooch with Garnet
6TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/8 in. (5 1/8 in.) (74 grams, 11 cm (126 grams total, 13 cm high including stand)).
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.
Provenancewith 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.
Cf. Hines, J., A New Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Great Square-Headed Brooches, London, 1997, items 11(a) Linton Heath for headplate, 17(b) Rothley, for foot.
FootnotesThe 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).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0410
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Great Square-Headed Brooch with Garnet
Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,380
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Irish Early Christian Gilt-Bronze Drinking Horn Terminal
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,040
Slender in form and gently curved, formed as the head and neck of a crane with narrow beak and inset glass eyes; baluster to the rear and multilinear curved bands. 11 grams, 43 mm
Found near Thetford, Norfolk, UK, circa 2018. Property of a private collector, West London, UK. -
Anglo-Saxon Agnus Dei Type Pewter Brooch
Circa late 10th-early 11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
A rare nummular brooch with pierced lugs to the reverse; low-relief design comprising a pelletted border and cross, quadruped supporting a processional cross. 6.68 grams, 23.65 mm
Found Lincolnshire, UK. From a Lincolnshire, UK, collection. Ex Paul Moore collection, 1990s-2000s. Accompanied by a Paul Moore display card. -
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Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Mount with Wolf-Men
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £936
The majority of a mount bearing dense and enigmatic imagery recalling half-remembered legends which were already ancient when it was made; the obverse packed with a tangled mass of bands of detailed ornament which resolves itself into human (or divine?) figures, each gripping the ankles of the other, their bodies inverted and contorted in the classic Style I chip-carved fashion; the centre with a round cell, into which a flat-cut glass cloison is set, polished to reflect the light and to shimmer with blood-red brilliance. 9.08 grams, 32 mm
Fine condition. Unique.
Found Wiltshire, UK. Wiltshire gentleman, 2011. TimeLine Originals, 2000s. Property of an East Anglia gentleman. Accompanied by a report by Anglo-Saxon and Viking specialist S. Pollington. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.10381-168115.
Anglo-Saxon and Viking specialist Stephen Pollington writes: '...the scene presented may illustrate a legend or myth of which no record survives. That said, the execution of the piece is consistent with high-status Anglo-Saxon metalwork of the 6th century, and the quality of the gilding is remarkably high. The iconography is at present unique but entirely within the Anglo-Saxon tradition.'
