Comprising: ellipsoid loop with hollowed underside; tongue with D-shaped shield bearing stylised facing mask among pellets, waisted and curved over the forward edge of the loop; rectangular plate with applied sheet-gold triangular panels bearing repoussé rings, waves, points and other motifs, gold cellwork and segmented frame with garnet cloisons, a central garnet cabochon, segmented rim; four pierced attachment lugs to the reverse.

PROVENANCE:
From the collection of Adolphe Stoclet, 1871-1949.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12137-217046.

PUBLISHED:
Georges A. Salles and Daisy Lion-Goldschmidt, Adolphe Stoclet Collection (part I), Brussels, 1956, p.137 (d).

LITERATURE:
Cf. Menghin, W., The Merovingian Period. Europe Without Borders, Berlin, 2007, items IX.3.1 & 2 (Badajoz, Spain); Heynowski, R., Bestimmungsbuch Archaeologie: Gürtel, Munich, 2017, type 8.4; MacGregor, A. et al., A Summary Catalogue of the Continental Archaeological Collections, Oxford, 1997.

FOOTNOTES:
The buckle plate is large and impressive, while the loop is somewhat narrower and may have been replaced. The central cabochon is a feature of buckle plates from this period (e.g. Menghin, IX.3.1, IX.5.1). The tongue-shield is of an unusual type more often found in Frankish contexts (e.g. Menghin, VII.40.18, MacGregor 77.24, 77.25, 77.26) of the same period.