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Description: | Anglo-Saxon bow brooch cast in copper alloy. The brooch has a semi-circular headplate with three small flat integral knops. The left knop is semi-circular in shape and decorated with a small punched circle. There is a break across the knop at the apex of the headplate, removing the tip and the right side of the knop. The third knop is completely missing from the lower right of the headplate, and the break is very worn.
The headplate is decorated with small circular punchmarks, five of which run down the centre of the headplate, with a large ring-and-dot design to either side. A double row of these circular punches also borders the headplate. There is a semi-circular recess at the base of the headplate where the bow begins. The bow is relatively short, has a D shaped profile and has a flat decorative area at its apex. The bow is decorated with a cross made up of four punched circles in a vertical line, with a further circular punch to either side of the centre of this vertical row.
The footplate is rectangular in shape before tapering into a triangular point with a circular terminal. There is an integral sub-rectangular knop or lappet at the two top corners of the footplate. These knops contain a small punched semi-circle, with another parallel punch on the main body of the footplate. These punches then continue in a single line to border the footplate. There is a large ring-and-dot motif in the centre of the footplate, with three circular punches above and below in a vertical line. The circular terminal also has a large ring-and-dot motif at its centre, and is bordered by a ring of small circular punches. The foot of this terminal is worn, with partial circular punches visible. The lug and catchplate are integrally cast with the brooch, and situated behind the headplate and footplate respectively. The pin, probably of iron, is missing, probably due to corrosion. The brooch has a bright copper patina, with some patches of dull green. There is some pitting on the reverse of the brooch, particularly on the hinge and catchplate, due to corrosion. The brooch is 58mm long, 22mm across at the widest point, and has a maximum thickness of 18mm.
This brooch can be compared with several examples from south-east England with three small flat knops around a semi-circular headplate, for example Bifrons grave 16, and PAS record nos. KENT2347, KENT2346 and KENT-09C753. It has been classed as a miniature radiate-headed brooch, due to the semi-circular headplate which is shared with Frankish radiate-headed brooches. However, the headplate on this brooch form does not have the multiple radiating knops around its circumference which gives the radiate brooches their name. Continental brooches of a similar form have been termed 'miniaturefibeln' or miniature brooches. A further study on these small semi-circular headed brooches is needed to understand their relationship with other brooch forms from this period.
Barry Ager writes: Although radiate-headed brooches are often thought of as imports from the Continent, this type has no exact parallel within Continental material. It is therefore possible that they are Anglo-Saxon origin with Continental influence on their form. The group can be compared with a fairly similar type of brooch found in France, the Rhineland and south-west Germany, exemplified by an unprovenanced 6th-century brooch (of 'linksrheinische Form') in J. Werner, 1961, "Katalog der Sammlung Diergardt, Bd. 1. Die Fibeln", Berlin, Taf. 16: 71 and distribution map 4 in Taf. 52. There are also a series of brooches with similar foot-plates from Domburg, Netherlands. | Format: | text/html | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ | Publisher: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Rights holder: | The Portable Antiquities Scheme | Subjects: | archaeology | Temporal: | 475
550 | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Creator: | Michael Lewis | Identifier: | http://www.finds.org.uk/database/artefac... | Language: | en-GB | Format: | text/html | Go to resource |
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