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LOT 1331
Anglo-Saxon Large Bronze Cruciform Bow Brooch
LATE 5TH-EARLY 6TH CENTURY A.D.
2 3/4 in. (71 grams, 13.5 cm).
Of Martin's Type 3.2.4 (Holywell Row) featuring a trapezoidal headplate with lateral trapezoidal panels, domed knop above; deep bow with facetted ends, T-shaped footplate with lateral lappets, horse-head finial with discoid nostrils; complete ferrous pin and catchplate to the reverse, hollowed reverse to the horse-head.
ProvenanceAcquired circa 1995.
From an East Anglian private collection.
Cf. Martin, T., The Cruciform Brooch and Anglo-Saxon England, Woodbridge, 2015, p.50, item 773 (from Hornsea, Yorkshire).
FootnotesThe Holywell Row type in Martin's analysis extends from the northern shore of the Thames Estuary as far as Yorkshire, but with a cluster in the Cambridge area. The edges of the headplate show the faintest traces of punched detailing, if this is not the result of the original clean-up when the brooch was taken from its mould; similar marks can be discerned on the footplate below the junction with the bow. The finial shows little zoomorphic detailing but the nostrils are characteristic of the type. The presence of the pin is remarkable.
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LOT 1331
Anglo-Saxon Large Bronze Cruciform Bow Brooch
Estimate £350 - 450€410 - 520 (for guidance only)$470 - 610 (for guidance only)
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Anglo-Saxon Bronze Zoomorphic Strap End
Circa 9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Thomas Class A Type 1, broadly rectangular in plan with tapering arms; the decorative scheme is divided into three: the snout with pronounced ears; a central panel of Trewhiddle style interlaced beast with some remains of niello; the tail with two circular rivet holes. 4.5 grams, 36 mm
Found Berkshire, UK. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.BERK-28A953. -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
Of Hines's Group X with rectangular headplate featuring low-relief bird-heads and a raised piriform mask to each upper corner; shallow bow with raised ribs and a stud to the centre; triangular footplate with coiled horse-head lappets forming the shoulders, lateral lobes (one detached) with sheet-silver surface, inverted facing mask to the finial; remains of ferrous pin and catch to the reverse. 100 grams, 14.5 cm
Found near March, Cambridgeshire, UK, circa 2015.
A close match to the features of the March brooch is not recorded in Hines's corpus, but the very distinctive isosceles triangle footplate with sharp shoulders appears on the example from Little Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire (Hines's pl.33(b). The facing masks in the upper corners of the headplate also appear on an example from Driffield (Hines, 1997, pl.82(a). -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Of Hines's Group XIII with running scrolls on the headplate surrounded by a border of beast-masks, deep bow with raised ribs, curved horse-head lappets and lateral lobes with facing masks, median panel of Style I ornament; remains of ferrous pin to the reverse and deep catch; some silver detailing; finial absent. 77.9 grams, 11.5 cm
Found near Thetford, Norfolk, UK, circa 2010.
This brooch falls within Hines's Group XIII and shares many features with an example from Nassington, Northamptonshire. The headplate bears a raised rectangular frame (possibly silvered) separating the inner scroll motif from the outer band of animal-masks which are pierced along the inner edge; the lappets are also pierced at the point of junction with the footplate. The lateral lobes feature facing masks of a helmetted type similar to those featured on contemporary button brooches.
