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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]
ProvenanceEx Lord McAlpine collection.
Ex David Miller collection.
Hammond, B., British Artefacts, volume 2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010.
LiteratureCf. Webster, L & Backhouse, J., The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.96-7, fig.69e-f.
FootnotesDress 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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AUCTIONS:
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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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Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £910
Of Hines's Group X with rectangular headplate featuring low-relief bird-heads and a raised piriform mask to each upper corner; shallow bow with raised ribs and a stud to the centre; triangular footplate with coiled horse-head lappets forming the shoulders, lateral lobes (one detached) with sheet-silver surface, inverted facing mask to the finial; remains of ferrous pin and catch to the reverse. 100 grams, 14.5 cm
Found near March, Cambridgeshire, UK, circa 2015.
A close match to the features of the March brooch is not recorded in Hines's corpus, but the very distinctive isosceles triangle footplate with sharp shoulders appears on the example from Little Wilbraham, Cambridgeshire (Hines's pl.33(b). The facing masks in the upper corners of the headplate also appear on an example from Driffield (Hines, 1997, pl.82(a). -
Saxon Bronze Dress Pin Group
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
One complete with facetted head punched-decorated with ring-and-dot motifs; bulbous facetted pin head punch-decorated with ring-and-dot motifs, partial remains of stem. 8.2 grams total, 38-77 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s. -
Saxon Iron Artefact Collection
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Comprising a straight cutting edge battle knife with a short tang; a shorter slender cutting edge battle knife with long tang; three small hunting knives; an iron ring and a possible javelin head. 708 grams total, 8.7-38 cm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
Battle knives are common in 6th -7th century Anglo-Saxon graves. They were, when not used, kept in their sheath and suspended from the belt by a detachable strap with a buckle.
