MOUNT

A gilded copper-alloy mount, perhaps from horse harness, dating from the early part of the Early Medieval period.

The mount is of openwork form and highly ornamented in Salin's Style I decoration, executed in low relief. Partly due to corrosion and partly to the complexity of the design, the exact nature of certain aspects of the decoration is uncertain. The upper portion of the mount is roughly oval in plan, with a protrusion at the centre of the bottom side. At the top of the mount is what appears to be a forward-facing anthropomorphic mask. The brow of this mask is defined by grooves, the cheeks are sub-rectangular and are separated from the vertical, straight-sided nose, above which are two small ring-shaped eyes. The central column of decoration lies immediately below this head. At the top it consists of a downward-pointing 'horseshoe-shaped' curve made up of four parallel ridges and interspersing grooves. At its apex this curve is interrupted by a much smaller upward curve, which may represent the mouth of the above mask. The area within the horseshoe contains a cruciform motif which has a pellet in each of its two top angles. At its base this cross extends into an inverted 'V-shaped' ornament, the interior of which is filled with a line of pellets. The space between the arms of the 'V' contains a pattern of interlocking triangles, perhaps indicative of teeth. The jagged bottom edge suggests that the mount may originally have been larger. The convex vertical sides of the mount are occupied by a pair of downward-facing birds (one on each side) of typical Style I form. The upper part of each side represents the body of the bird and is filled with four parallel ridges and interspersing grooves, which follow the contours of the side. A right-angled head frame cuts across the body, a pellet eye located within the 'V-shaped' space below. The main part of the beak is crescentic, the bottom point extending into an upward curve. On the plain reverse of the mount are two integral rivets, situated one above the other. The mount is slightly bent and corroded. It measures 25.8mm high, 25.9mm wide and 1.7mm thick (not including the rivets). The weight is 5.18g.