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LOT 0277
Post Roman Gallic Figural Amuletic Bone Carving
5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D. OR LATER
6 1/2 in. (53 grams, 16.5 cm).
A carved bone panel or amulet, possibly a pectoral fragment, carved with a scene composed of a central mounted horseman advancing left with spear raised and solar symbol behind his head, flanked by his forces depicted on the left as two rows of heads facing right, and on the right as two rows of heads facing left; pierced for attachment or suspension; repaired.
ProvenancePreviously in the Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
From a Cambridge collection.
Property of a North London gentleman.
Cf. Dalton, O.M., Catalogue of Early Christian Antiquities and Objects from the Christian East in the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities and Ethnography of the British Museum, London, 1901, item 291, for type; for similar carving style see the belt of Saint Caesarius, in D'Amato, R., Post Roman Kingdoms, Dark Ages Gaul and Britain, AD 450-800, Oxford, 2022, p.12.
FootnotesThe scene represents a triumphant military commander or an emperor on horseback surrounded by his troops. It may have formed part of the parade attire of a junior officer.
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AUCTIONS:
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Large Merovingian Gold Fish-Tailed Mount with Garnets
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A substantial gold mount or fitting for a shield, belt or bridle comprising a median domed panel with central green glass cabochon, four pelta-shaped radiating-arm cells with inset garnets, two now absent; to each end a fish-tail with inset garnet cloisons, one absent; six fixing pins to the mounting plate with beaded border. 12.62 grams, 48 mm
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Large Germanic Silver Buckle
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £127
A heavy silver belt buckle, the bow and tongue decorated with raised nodules, rectangular plate with beaded edges, pierced through the corners, modern plate for attachment. 101 grams, 87 mm
Fine condition.
Acquired mid 1980s to early 1990s. Private family collection formed in London.
The construction of the buckle loop and tongue could suggest that this object originates from the Heruli culture, when compared to finds like those from the Ulów graves. Another possibility is that the buckle belongs to Alemannic or Frankish culture. The rectangular buckle plate seems to be an addition from a different buckle of Gothic type, but the assemblage could have been done already in antiquity.
