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LOT 1187
Merovingian Lettered Openwork Plate Brooch
6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 7/8 in. (15.6 grams, 43 mm).
A rectangular bronze brooch decorated with punched ring-and-dot motifs and openwork lettering, possibly 'RIC/VLF'; hinged pin and catch to reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1970s-1980s.
Ex UK collection.
Property of a Portsmouth, UK gentleman.
Cf.Various, Die Franken, Wegbereiter Europas, Mainz, 1996, pp.29, 292.
FootnotesThe item was probably part of a Merovingian belt fitting, later transformed in brooch with the application of the pin and catch. The name 'Riculf' or 'Ricolf' belonged to a bishop of Cologne, Germany, from 763 to 784 A.D.
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