LOT 0318

Anglo-Saxon Silver Hooked Tag with Niello Inlaid Interlaced Panels

CIRCA 800-950 A.D.

1 1/2 in. (3.8 grams, 38 mm).

Of Read's Class D, Type 1, piriform in plan with convex, rounded edges narrowing to a point at the integral hook, rectangular in cross-section and tapering to a recurved tip; at the shoulders, two pierced lugs forming attachment points and a central dome-headed rivet; obverse decorated with engraved Trewhiddle style motifs - a central hatched tribrach motif dividing the plate into three panels with pointed three-part knot above and lateral lenticular panels with Trewhiddle plant tendrils; peripheral hatched border running each side of the attachment loops and around the plate to the base of the hook; upper section of the hook with two engraved lateral arcs; the sharp tip of the integral hook absent.

Found near Lewes, East Sussex, UK, on 7th September 2025; declared as potential Treasure under the Treasure Act with Treasure reference no.2025T1455, subsequently disclaimed and returned to the finder.

Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.SUSS-71D76C.

See Read, B., Hooked-Clasps and Eyes, Langport, 2008, nos 112 & 113.

The engraved recesses of the decorative design would have contained black niello inlay, of which only one small triangular area survives on the left of the plate. The reverse of the plate is plain, with the flattened shank of the rivet projecting from the centre of the plate. The metal surfaces have a dark grey silvery patina.

The 'hooked tag' fastener functioned by connecting with a matching eye section (see Read, 2008, no.108) or via a simple metal ring sewn into the fabric (ibid., fig.9). Examples of Class D hooked tags have been found in Birka, Sweden, in a 10th-century male burial, positioned at each knee with woollen twill textile remains on the reverses suggesting they were used to secure leg wrappings. The Bayeux tapestry also shows both Normans and Anglo-Saxons with horizontal banding on the legs, which have been interpreted as leg wrappings. (ibid.24). Other possible functions have been for securing purses or bags, suggested by a hoard of Anglo-Saxon coins found at Tetney, Lincs, which also contained a pair of single sharp, hooked clasps (ibid.24). This form of hooked tag fits Read (2008) Class D type 1 with two or more rounded knops for attachment at the end of the plate opposite to the hook (p.27). The hatched tribrach design with interstices filled with interlace is paralleled by a copper-alloy hooked tag in Read, no.113; and, for an example with a central boss/domed rivet, see: no. 12. Most hooked tags are copper-alloy, but silver examples of this form with niello decoration that have been submitted through the treasure process include: 2019T687 (SUR-19BC54), also with Trewhiddle style zoomorphic decoration separated by a tribach form and 2016T608 (KENT-076AE5), also with Trewhiddle style ornament in three fields. The Trewhiddle style decoration provides a date of the ninth to early tenth centuries for this object.