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Description: | Description: Copper-alloy strap-end of Thomas's Class A, Type 5, broadly 9th century in date. It is convex-sided, and the entire strap-end is in the form of a stylised animal head without a body. The split attachment end retains two silver rivets with large circular heads; the attachment end is shaped around these and has a small point in the centre. The animal head has elongated triangular ears which terminate at the attachment end and can be read as scrolling around (although the 'scroll' is a rather rectangular raised area) to include the silver rivets and to form the bi-convex attachment edge. Each ear is decorated with an elongated triangular field, one of which retains niello inlay with reverse-s-shaped silver wire scrolls and annulets, the other keyed for missing inlay. Between the ears, the triangular forehead, also with an elongated triangular field retaining niello inlay and silver wire reverse s-shaped scrolls and annulets, projects slightly beyond the ears at the attachment edge to form the central point. Between the ears and forehead are two smaller, undecorated raised triangular fields with their apexes pointing downwards. Below the ears are two large circular eyes, inlaid with circular fields of niello and silver wire spirals, and a concave-sided snout with a central elongated pentagonal field filled with a reverse s-shaped silver wire scroll and annulet to either side.Dimensions: Length 38mm. Width 17mm. Weight 8.4g.Discussion: This strap-end is almost identical to an example from Waldringfield, Suffolk, illustrated in Thomas 2003 (FRG Datasheet 32), fig.1, no.12, another from West Caister, Norfolk, illustrated in Thomas 1996, fig. 6, no. 53 and a third example from Somersham, Suffolk (PAS SF-C406D7). Most strap-ends inlaid with silver wire come from East Anglia, with outliers in Lincolnshire.Date: A date-range of late 8th to early 10th century, centring on the 9th century, is likely (Thomas 1996, 85).
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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