Saxon Bronze Pin Set Pin Head

Rectangular in plan with hinge knuckle to one short end; ropework outer edges and raised saltires, on a field of chip-carved triskeles and other motifs; low socket to reverse. 6.62 grams, 34 mm



Found North Yorkshire, UK.

The style of decoration is typical of Hiberno-Saxon metalwork associated with the influence of Irish missionaries in England.

Comprising: trapezoidal headplate with beast-head spurs to the upper angles and concentric panels of Style I ornament with flanking billets; shallow bow with central cell and garnet cloison insert; short footplate with lateral lappets featuring profile masks and central lozenge; facing mask above a trapezoidal bar finial; pin-lugs and catch to the reverse; mounted on a custom-made stand. 74 grams, 11 cm (126 grams total, 13 cm high including stand)



with ArtAncient Ltd. Private collection, London. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12440-226863.

The meaning of the 'facing mask' motif on the footplate is probably related to the profile masks frequently used in Style I art, where the 'pellet' eye is enclosed by an arched frame: the 'facing mask' repeats this motif to produce a pair of eyes in a doubled 'bow'. An element of visual 'riddling' is no doubt present: the design is neither one thing nor the other, but includes elements of both. Distribution of great square-headed brooches was initially concentrated along the valleys of the Rivers Trent, Thames and Severn, though it was later confined to the East Midlands and East Anglia (Hines, 1997, figs. 101, 102).

Slender in form and gently curved, formed as the head and neck of a crane with narrow beak and inset glass eyes; baluster to the rear and multilinear curved bands. 11 grams, 43 mm



Found near Thetford, Norfolk, UK, circa 2018. Property of a private collector, West London, UK.