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Description: | An incomplete cast copper alloy gilt button brooch (Avent & Evison Type Aii) of Early Early-Medieval date (c. AD 475 - c. AD 525). Maximum diameter 16.3mm and 2.8mm thick. Weight 2.11g.The rim, the pin and the catch-plate are missing due to old breaks. When complete, the brooch would have been circular in plan with an upwards flaring rim. At the centre of the surviving part of the brooch is a moulded anthropomorphic face mask which has prominent and well defined features. The hair (or perhaps a helmet) is represented by two separate and upward pointing "waves". There are decorative punch marks on the lower edges of these features, although, due to corrosion, the full extent of this decoration cannot be ascertained. The large triangular nose forms a single entity integral with the horizontal eyebrows. Part of the nose is lost due to corrosion. As viewed from the front, the left eye is almond-shaped. The right eye was probably of similar shape but is partially corroded. The cheeks are well defined and strikingly prominent but the left cheek (as viewed from the front) is partially lost. The mouth is symmetrical, being horizontal and lentoid-shaped. The upper part of the mouth appears to be punched and this decoration may have been intended to represent a moustache. Due to corrosion, it is not possible to determine whether the face mask may have been enclosed with a circle of pellets or punch marks. When complete, the brooch would have been furnished with a flaring rim, providing a saucer shape.The rear face of the plate is corroded and uneven. Vestigial remains of a pair of parallel pin lugs and also the catch-plate are barely visible. With the face mask at 12 o' clock, the lugs are at 9 o' clock and the catch-plate lies opposite at 3 o' clock. The artefact is in poor condition At the front, the surfaces that are not corroded have a mid-brown patina with traces of gilding. Scant traces of a similar patina have survived on the rear face. There is no evidence for melting or burning.Button brooches are distinguished by their small size and by the anthropomorphic face-masks which they feature. They may have been used in different ways as dress fasteners. It is thought that they may have been used singly rather than in pairs like the similar but larger saucer brooches. Button brooches are found throughout much of southern England and date between the later fifth and mid-sixth centuries.This Isle of Wight brooch has similar facial features to one in the Ashmolean Museum Anglo-Saxon Collections (MacGregor and Bolick 1993, 55, ref. 3.5).
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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