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LOT 0318
Large Anglo-Saxon Silvered Bronze Hanging Bowl Mount
CIRCA 6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
2 1/4 in. (25.5 grams, 57 mm).
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.
ProvenanceFound 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.
Cf. MacGregor, A. & Bolick, E., A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-Ferrous Metals), Oxford, 1993, item 47.19, for type; Pollington, S., Mead Hall – Feasting in Anglo-Saxon England, Hockwold-cum-Wilton, 2003, for discussion; Pollington, S., Kerr, L. & Hammond, B., Wayland's Work: Anglo-Saxon Art, Myth & Material Culture from the 4th to 7th century, Ely, 2010, p.279-281.
FootnotesBowl 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.
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Superb Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch
6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £11,700
Of Hines's Group X with two discs on the headplate in a rectangular frame surrounded by a frieze of facing human masks, and another mask placed centrally above the junction with the bow; shallow bow with three ribs; curved horse-head lappets flanking a vertical shank with facing mask detailing, discoid lobes and an inverted mask below; pin-lugs to the reverse and solder-scar where the catchplate was attached. 128 grams, 14 cm
Found near Grimsby, Humberside, UK, circa 2010. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11899-204377.
The brooch has many of the characteristics of Hines's Group X but also bears a strong resemblance to an unclassified example from Barrington A, Cambridgeshire (Hines, 1997, pl.101). The frieze of facing masks which forms the border to the headplate has echoes of contemporary motifs found on the headplate of the brooch from Fridaythorpe (Hines, 1997, pl.8(b)) and the crests of helmets such as Valsgarde mounds 5 and 7 (Sweden) - see Mortimer, 2011, p.32-35). The inverted mask on the finial echoes the 7th century shield-fitting from Vall, Gotland (Franceschi et al, 2005, pl.209). The significance of the mask motifs has been discussed in the cited works of Franceschi et al and Mortimer. A link to generations of deified ancestors is one possibility. -
Anglo-Saxon Bronze Entwined Serpent Mount
6th-7th century A.D.Estimate: £300 - 400 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £150
With openwork design of two serpents interlaced, each with billeted body and lentoid eyes, ropework border to the shorter sides; old collector's accession numbers to the underside '91.115' and '15871'. 10.9 grams, 46 mm
UK collection formed 1970s-1990s. Ex property of an English gentleman.
The decorative pattern of this mount is similar to what, according to S. West, is an Anglo-Saxon die found in Suffolk, where legless animal forms are represented lying head to tail, with beaded bodies within a beaded border. Also here the animals are showing interlaced jaws and headed bodies, all contained in a border. -
Saxon Bronze Strap End Group
7th-9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
Mainly zoomorphic in form, including examples with remains of niello and enamel inlay, together with a mount displaying a central roundel featuring a geometric motif in silver inlay. 22.1 grams, 21-38 mm
Acquired on the UK market, 1990s. Property of a retired academic.
