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LOT 0367
Anglo-Saxon Tinned Bronze Openwork Horse Harness Mount
LATE 5TH-EARLY 6TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/4 in. (26.1 grams, 57 mm).
Disc mount with four pierced lugs to the reverse, openwork design with four radiating U-shaped elements between the arms of a cross with T-shaped voids.
ProvenanceFound Southern England.
Acquired on the UK art market in the 1980s.
From an East Anglian private collection.
Cf. Carver, M., Sutton Hoo. A Seventh Century Princely Burial Ground and its Context, London, 2005, p.234 and fig.115, for discussion of bridle fittings.
FootnotesThe 'zoned' layout of the piece strongly recalls some of the design elements in Kentish disc brooches, where the cells contain inlaid garnets, millefiori glass, meerschaum and other materials (see Arrhenius, B., Merovingian Garnet Jewellery, Stockholm, 1985, figs. 188-193).
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Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Bronze Hanging Bowl Mount
Early 9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,600
Triangular mount with applied rim forming a cell and interlocking La Tène spirals to the face; hook to the apex with recesses; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 9.11 grams, 34 mm (29.8 grams total, 59 mm including stand)
Found Haddenham near Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. From the collection of Dirk Kennis, Belgium.
The cells on the mount were intended to be filled with coloured enamel to produce a rich polychrome effect. 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. -
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Shield Mount with Animal Masks and Beast Heads
6th century A.D.Estimate: £600 - 800 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
The eight arms arranged with alternating trefoil and tapering terminals, the trilobate arms formed as animal masks, the tapering arms as dragon-heads, all with stylised detailing in relief; punched circlets to the field; some remains of mounting lug to reverse centre. 68 grams, 54 mm
Found Norfolk, UK. From an East Anglian private collection. -
Anglo-Saxon Gilt Chip-Carved Bronze Disc Brooch
8th-early 9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,680
Plate brooch with raised rim and four applied knops (two absent); central disc surrounding by four radiating arms extending to D-shaped panels at the rim where the knops are attached; the interstitial fields with dense reserved meander-pattern ornament; pierced at the centre with a second eccentrically-placed hole and another offset hole at the end of one of the 'arms'; part of the rim absent; accompanied by a custom-made display stand. 7.73 grams, 29.2 mm (29.19 grams total, 68 mm including stand)
Found Harston, Cambridgeshire, UK. Ex Essex collection formed in the 1980s. From the collection of Dirk Kennis, Belgium.
The 'key pattern' design appears in Irish and Scottish (Pictish) metalwork and carved stone such as the Nigg Stone (Ross Shire, Scotland) as well as in the borders of the Book of Kells. 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.