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Description: | Copper alloy flat enamelled zoomorphic brooch, probably a lion. Missing pin, damaged catchplate and legs, areas of corrosion. The pin was sprung (3-turns) on a bar between two lugs 5mm apart. The animal has a rounded head with open mouth and excised areas, one of which probably leads into an eye shape, but it is not clear whether there was any enamel on the head. The main body area is separated from the head by a straight line (slightly suggestive of a collar?)from which lines project (obscured by corrosion) into the first of two enamelled cells, in which no enamel survives. The second cell contains traces of blue enamel and is partially divided by a line defining a near circular area, perhaps representing upper limb musculature. A narrow curving tail broadens into a tri-lobed end. Both legs are damaged, the back one at a definite angle, the front one possibly also at an angle - which might indicate a leaping pose. The metal is a grey-white colour at the front but this does not appear to relate to applied silvering as it extends round the edges and into damaged areas of the head. Length 36.5mm, surviving height 17mm, plate is 1.7mm thick. The nearest comparable published example identified is Hattatt no 1639, which is definitely a lion with a projecting mane and the complete foreleg - howvever he also refers to Hull's unpublished corpus no.4349 as having a different head and no upstanding mane, which sounds similar to the present example. Another fragment, with similar head (except a closed mouth) and no mane but a different pattern of enamelled cells, is recorded from Charsfield, Suffolk (CHA 011), from a probable shrine or temple site. The British zoomorphic brooches are quite often associated with religious sites but also occur elsewhere, and can perhaps be compared to medieval pilgrim badges.
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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