SCABBARD

Tiny but beautiful gold and garnet sword-button from a sword-scabbard. The circular backplate has a circular depression in the middle and a scrap of gold rod lying across the very centre, presumably the remains of the attachment loop. There is a small hole in the backplate which is currently full of earth, but which might allow access to the centre of the button for detailed examination of its construction. The cell walls of gold are soldered to the gold backplate, forming a double row of 13 pairs of tiny rectangular cells around the edge. These have a few garnets surviving (although most are missing) showing that they were cut with curved surfaces and set over stamped gold foil.

Above this is a collar with the upper edge cut into 24 points. Alternating groups of three form the lower edge of semi-circular cloisons set with garnets, or extend upwards as cell walls to form a cross shape with concave arms, each set with two tiny garnets cut with curving surfaces to give the button a smooth dome. Within the cross are four sub-triangular cloisons and at the centre is a tiny square garnet.

All the surviving settings are of garnet; there are a total of 51 tiny cells, but most of the garnets are missing. In all cases where it is possible to see, there is hatched gold foil underlying the garnets.

The best parallels are found in the Sutton Hoo Mound 1 sword-buttons, which although substantially bigger share the double-row base of minute cloisonné garnets; on the Sutton Hoo examples these have ribbed surfaces. The Sutton Hoo button also has similar complex cloisonné, although in a slightly different pattern. Simpler sword-buttons are known from the Staffordshire Hoard and from Griston, Norfolk (found in 2008; Norfolk HER 52652, NMS-Z32B24). They date to the first half of the seventh century.

Treasure Ref: 2010 T738