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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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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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Large Anglo-Saxon Silvered Bronze Hanging Bowl Mount
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Discoid and hollow to the reverse with raised rim and shallow suspension hook with beast-head facetting; panel of three La Tène spirals and comma-leaf motifs, central void. 25.5 grams, 57 mm
Found near Grimsby, Lincolnshire, UK, circa 2010. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11893-204384.
Bowl mounts in groups of three are believed to have adorned the rim of bronze cauldrons which were used for the public dispensing of beer or mead at feasts. They are usually decorated in a manner which suggests that they were made in the north or northwest of Britain, and were either traded with the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms or, more likely, they formed part of the circulation of prestige goods among leading families in ritualised gift exchange. -
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Mythical Beast Shield Mount
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £650
With punched outline to the body and legs, gilded head with open jaws and raised cell eye; attachment studs to the reverse. 10.2 grams, 60 mm
Found near Grimsby, UK, circa 2015.
A number of similar mounts, probably from shields or possibly saddles, have been found in England, notably the beast from grave 26 at Bergh Apton (Norfolk) where the animal depicted may be a bear. -
Saxon and Other Bronze Strap End Collection
Circa 8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Comprising mainly Thomas's Class A Types 1, 2 and 5, many with silver inlay and niello; two tongue-shaped types. 54.6 grams total, 34-51 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
Thomas' Class A is the classic ‘long’ 9th-century strap end with animal-head terminal, often depicted in the Trewhiddle style. During the 9th century, for the first time in the Anglo-Saxon period, we see the adoption of what may be termed a 'national' artistic style - the Trewhiddle style - which has been recognised on objects from Anglo-Saxon England, from as far as Cornwall and Talnotrie, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland.
