BROOCH

A copper alloy Anglo-Saxon brooch fragment. It may be from the upper bow with the beginnings of the head-plate probably from a cruciform or a square-headed brooch. The bow is decorated with two rectangular panels divided by a longitudinal ridge. There may be further decoration within each panel, but the fragment is corroded and shows signs of having been burnt. The little that survives of the head-plate is decorated with a running rectangular pattern, with chip-carved designs within the rectangular panels. The central panel has a face depicted, with eyebrows over two raised dot eyes either side of a strong triangular-shaped nose, with crescent-shaped cheeks. This mask would be upside-down when the brooch was worn, (but would be the right way up for the wearer). One side panel has a triangle and dot design, and the other is incomplete. Behind this are the incomplete remains of a catch, part of a projecting loop or pin lug. The fragment measures 30.86mm in length, 29.66mm in width, and weighs 10.52g.

This brooch with a mask design can be seen to conform with Hine's class III or class VII types ( Hine 1997, pp 41-48). His example Chessell Down 22(fig.19c) shows a similar face in a central panel on the headplate. Another brooch with a mask has been recorded from Hampshire, see HAMP-232965. This type of square-headed brooch dates to the sixth century AD.