|
Date: |
|
Description: | Gilded copper-alloy mount and/or pendant, perhaps from horse-harness. The object is axe-shaped, with Style II zoomorphic triple-strand interlace decoration and gilding on the front. The axe form has a narrow, slightly tapered top end with an attachment loop; the bottom edge is broad and convex, and the sides are incurved. The triple-strand decoration is highly stylised, and comprises several elements; it is difficult to trace clearly. There are two closed oval loops, one in each of the corners of the curved bottom edge. The rest comprises several elements, probably representing one or more animals which may be serpents or quadrupeds; two feet are visible at the top, and a possible head near the centre, but there are at least two and perhaps three tails visible, suggesting that the decoration is based on the triple zoomorph pattern well known from similar finds in East Anglia (e.g. from Barham (West 1998, fig. 7.70) and Mound 17 at Sutton Hoo, both in Suffolk). The suspension loop projects backwards slightly and the small hole runs from side to side; the loop is now broken. The edges of the pendant are flat. The back is undecorated and not gilded. There are two small integral rivets on the reverse, one at the top and one at the bottom, aligned in the centre on the longitudinal axis. The combination of suspension loop and rivets seems unusual; the parallels from East Anglia all have rivets on the reverse, but no suspension loops. This object is Anglo-Saxon, and both the basic shape and the details of the Style II decoration dates it to the first half of the seventh century. It belongs to a growing corpus of objects now recognised as horse-harness equipment. | Subjects: | Anglo-Saxon | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Hayward Trevarthen, Ciorstaidh - Portable Antiquities Scheme | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
-
-
MOUNT
Copper alloy and gilt horse-harness…
-
-
-
Mount
Copper alloy and gilt harness…
-
-
PENDANT
Gilded copper-alloy object in the…
-
-
|