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Details
LOT 1509
Dark Age Tinned Bronze Bird Head Finial
CIRCA 6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 in. (35.3 grams, 38 mm).
Comprising an octagonal tube with tinned finish decorated with ring-and-dot motifs, at the top a hooked 'beak' with lateral guides for a strap.
Provenance
Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.
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LOT 1509
Dark Age Tinned Bronze Bird Head Finial
Estimate £180 - 240€210 - 280 (for guidance only)$240 - 320 (for guidance only)
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'The Boxford' Frankish Silver Published Radiate Brooch Fragment
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Found near Boxford, West Berkshire, UK, in 2001. Accompanied by various correspondence with West Berkshire Council and the British Museum, including a letter disclaiming the brooch as treasure dated 22nd November 2001, BM Treasure case: 2001 T1. Accompanied by PAS record id. PAS-D36287.
The brooch is similar to Rhineland examples from Andernach and Bonn, Germany (H Kühn, Die germanischen Bügelfibeln der Völkerwanderungszeit in der Rheinprovinz(Bonn, 1940), Taf. 67: 6,3; 6,5; 6,6). However, a more ovoid form ending in an animal head is not impossible. -
Large Gothic Silver-Gilt Buckle with Raven and Eagle Heads
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Very fine condition.
Acquired in Munich in the 1970s. From an old European collection. Property of an important West London collector. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no. 11831-206924.
Numerous examples of these buckles, together with stirrup fibulae with buttons, were found in the necropolis of the Bosphorus, brought from the Danube area in the first and second half of the 6th century. They were part of the equipment of burials in crypts or inhumation tombs, dated from the end of the 6th century to the 7th century. Accurate comparisons can be made with a specimen recovered in burial tomb 315 of Eski Kermen, (first half of the 7th century), a grave belonging to a woman of Alan ethnic group, buried with Gothic ornaments. -
Frankish Bronze Buckle with Phallic Symbol
6th-7th century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
The headplate engraved with an ithyphallic penis at the centre enclosed within concentric geometric borders, three domed studs to the perimeter; the penis motif repeated in smaller plate forming part of the tongue, oval-shaped buckle engraved with clusters of vertical lines; remains of tinning; three pierced attachment lugs to reverse; repaired. 70 grams, 86 mm
with Paris Hôtel Drouot, 12 July 2005, lot 152. Private collection, Europe.
