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Details
LOT 1504
Saxon Silver-Gilt Pin with Beast Heads
8TH CENTURY A.D.
3 in. (2.91 grams, 76 mm).
With a flat, tongue-shaped head connected to the shaft by a rectangular collar; the shaft with a bulbous 'rib’ approximately 20 mm from the tip; the upper portion of the head with radiate detailing and a Trewhiddle Style zoomorph; recessed panel with knotwork motif below, within an elliptical panel with lateral flanches towards the base. [No Reserve]
Provenance
Ex Lord McAlpine collection.
Ex David Miller collection.
Published
Hammond, B., British Artefacts, volume 2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010.
Literature
Cf. Webster, L & Backhouse, J., The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.96-7, fig.69e-f.
Footnotes
Dress pins of this period are often 'hipped', with a small bulb about two-thirds of the length of the shank in order to secure them in the weave of the fabric. The present piece is very delicate and would have been suitable only for a fine linen or silk garment of the highest quality.
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LOT 1504
Saxon Silver-Gilt Pin with Beast Heads
Estimate £400 - 600€460 - 700 (for guidance only)$540 - 810 (for guidance only)
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