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Date: |
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Description: | Silver Viking spout or terminal, probably from a drinking horn. The terminal is in the form of an animal's head, with an open mouth through which liquid could have been drunk. The eyes on either side of the head are recessed, and one has the remains of a blue glass setting. Two raised silver projections are formed on the top of the head, depicting the animal's ears. The shaft of the terminal has interlace decoration.
Susan Youngs studied this object at the British Museum as part of the Treasure Act process, and her report reads as follows (published in the Treasure Annual Report, 2003):
"Tubular casting of silver, broken at both ends and with cast decoration on all external surfaces and one glass inlay remaining. There appears to be gilding and this is neither confirmed nor denied by the scientific report. Part of the original upper edge remains together with a broken hole for an attachment rivet, showing that this is a discrete finial or decorative terminal. The broader part of the tube consists of three panels of similar six-strand interlace in low relief which taper slightly to a narrow collar above a prominent rounded collar. Beyond is a broad animal head of almost cubic shape. Long narrow ears run up behind each cheek and their rounded ends project slightly to either side behind the brow. The brows are lobed and a decorative triangular panel of billets lies between the ear-tips. Large circular eyes (one still inlaid with glass) sit in curved fields which fill and define the flat cheeks. The snout was ridged and ribbed and is mainly broken away, but a flat base panel defined by an incised line remains. The panels of interlace and stylised beast head show this to be Anglo-Saxon workmanship of the middle-Saxon period.
"The slight curvature of the deep collar and head in profile and the robust, heavy casting indicate that this is a horn-terminal, and the interlace and treatment of the eyes, combined with the ribbed texturing also fit in with the date. The form and ornamental features of the head and ears would repay further research. The width and slight taper of this base plate of the snout might suggest that it was originally in the form of an elongated beak in the tradition of earlier Anglo-Saxon terminals or of contemporary Irish horn terminals. Contemporary animal heads in Anglo-Saxon applied arts, however, normally have quite snub-nosed, short snouts. There appears to be no equivalent Anglo-Saxon horn terminal of this period, however, there is a larger, fully round decorative gilt-bronze finial from the Isle of Wight which shares some of the characteristics of this piece (S. Youngs, 'An Anglo-Saxon staff fitting from near Brading' in K. Ulmschneider, 'Archaeology, History and the Isle of Wight in the Middle Saxon Period' Medieval Archaeology 44 (2000) pp. 40-4). | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://www.findsdatabase.org.uk/hms/pas_... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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