LOT 0324

'The Oving' Anglo-Saxon Gilt Bronze Great Square-Headed Brooch

6TH CENTURY A.D.

5 1/4 in. (75 grams, 13.4 cm).

Comprising a rectangular headplate with two panels of chip-carved Style I ornament, flanking a beast-head with triangular muzzle and two pellet eyes, raised three-sided frame and outer band of pellets above beast-heads with lentoid eyes; the shallow bow with raised median rib, flanges to the edges and punched pellet detailing; footplate with beast-head between curved pellet lines, pierced horse-head lappets, lozengiform central panel with knot of Style I limbs; two lateral discs, one pierced to accept a stud and the other with a domed stud in place; the finial a disc with human mask inverted; pin-lug and part of catch to the reverse.

Found whilst searching with a metal detector in Oving, near Chichester, West Sussex, UK, in 2001.

This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no. 200279.

See Hines, J., A New Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Great Square-Headed Brooches, London, 1997, for discussion.

The various elements of the brooch find similar counterparts on others in the series, such as the form of the bow which corresponds to those on brooches from Herpes (Pas-de-Calais, France) and Sarre (Kent) (Hines's plates 10, 11) and the outer band of masks on the headplate which can be found on a brooch from Tuddenham (Hines's plate 15).