Viking Age Bronze Ring-Pin Brooch Ring

In the shape of a beetle(?) with a flat surface on one side, and divided on the other side by five spaces intended for cloisonne insertions; small loop for suspension in the upper part. 0.68 grams, 15 mm



From a late Japanese specialist collector, 1970-2000s.

The cloisonne decoration, probably of Constantinopolitan origin, became an object of local production in the Merovingian kingdom since the 6th century A.D. Decorative objects of this type are common in female and male tombs, intended for the ornamentation of belts and household objects, arms and clothing.

A slightly bent irregular bar of hacked gold with rectangular cross-section, showing evidence of compression and fracture to each end, some subtle transverse lines on both of the main surfaces. 14.43 grams, 51 mm



Found whilst searching with a metal detector on 1st May 2022 on a Romano-British site in Cambridgeshire, UK, by Trevor Singleton. Accompanied by a handwritten letter from the finder. Accompanied by a copy of the British Museum's Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS) report no.CAM-D819F0 and workflow review page where it states: 'There is evidence that the bar fragment has been cut from both ends, suggesting Early Medieval (Viking Period) parallels.'

This ingot was declared under the Treasure Act and subsequently determined by the British Museum to be of 'undiagnostic' date and therefore returned to the finder. Trevor Singleton maintains that it was recovered from a known Romano-British site, while in neighbouring fields Early Medieval (Late Saxon & Viking) items have been recovered and logged with the Portable Antiquities Scheme. Ingots of gold and silver were regularly produced in the Early Medieval period when trade took place between monetised economies (Anglo-Saxon England, Francia, Frisia) and their non-monetised neighbours in southern Scandinavia (West, 1998; Blackburn, 2011). Ingots were a convenient means of storing wealth which could be converted into display items (weapon fittings, clothing fasteners, tableware) or used to gild silver and bronze items (Hårdh, 1996).

In the form of an equine creature modelled in the round with long beak and arched neck; panels of gilded Style I ornament to each lateral face, stepped band with punched detailing extending from the ears to the chest; rounded rump with pointillé detailing; hollow mounting socket to the underside. 13.6 grams, 42 mm



Acquired early 1990s. From an East Anglian private collection. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.11895-204402.

The socket on the underside suggests that the mount was placed prominently, perhaps on the crest of a helmet. Zoomorphic helmet mounts are known e.g. the boars on the Benty Grange and Wollaston examples, though these are not so detailed as the present example. The item is too small to be seen from afar but is ornate enough to attract attention at close quarters. Stylistically, the piece might have been made in southern Scandinavia or in an Anglian area of England in the later 5th or 6th century A.D.