LOT 1018

Anglo-Saxon Zoomorphic 'Bird-Head Lappets' Cruciform Brooch

CIRCA 6TH CENTURY AD

5 1/2" (Copper-alloy, 105 grams, 14 cm).

A large cast copper-alloy cruciform brooch of evolved type, the headplate formed as a rectangular plate with trapezoidal wings and a D-shaped flat tab to each edge, each with two impressed roundels and outer knop as a stylised face; the lateral edges of the headplate decorated with two rows of punched-point detail found also on the lower edges of the tabs and the outer edges of the wings; the bow broad and deep, with facetted ends; the footplate trapezoidal with linear borders and punched-point detail, flanked by bird-head lappets; the finial comprising a transverse ribbed collar with horsehead motif formed from raised pellet eyes developing to an opposed pair of animal heads with a peltoid plate below; to the reverse, the pin-lug and catchplate in place; the pin lost in antiquity.

From an important Scottish collection; found Catterick, Yorkshire, UK.

The brooch was recovered from the Catterick area (Yorkshire) which is usually identified as the site of the late 6th or early 7th century battle of Catraeth immortalized in the Old Welsh poem Y Gododdin in which a troop of three hundred horsemen from the fortress of Din Eidyn attacked an unnamed but overwhelming enemy force and was wiped out. The case has been made for the British horsemen having set off from the area of modern Edinburgh to attack an Anglian (English) stronghold, although the poem does not mention either the location of the battle or the name of the enemy.