MOUNT

Silver-gilt sub-rectangular fragment from a decorative mount of uncertain function; the fragment in its current state is laterally curved, but damage and distortion make it impossible to say whether this curvature reflects its original form to any degree. The fragment has been cast, then finished off by hand and gilded overall on the decorated surface. The back is undecorated, but shows some signs of working. It is broken off on both sides, and seems also to be so on the upper edge, which has a rough and uneven surface, unlike the lower edge, which is smooth and largely undamaged. There are no attachment holes. The face shows that mount was originally decorated with at least two square panels containing zoomorphic decoration. One of these survives almost intact, and consists of a long-legged feline creature, the body in profile and the head turned to the front to gaze at the viewer. Below the muzzle is an abraded element which resembles an open mouth, but which is more probably part of the interlace enveloping the beast. The fur on the body, neck and haunch is represented by finely ribbed herringbone engraving, and the tail developed into an elaborate chip-carved interlace which crosses over the body to enmesh the legs and delicately clawed feet. This image is framed by plain borders at top and bottom, and by two upright borders with diagonal engraving. To the bottom left of the left border, a trace of a claw-like element suggests that the adjacent panel bore a similar image.

The distinctive and elegant decoration of this fragment is characteristic of 8th century Anglo-Saxon metalwork and sculpture, especially that centred on the kingdom of Mercia and its dependencies, where animals entrammelled in fine interlace abound; the triple pin-set from the R Witham at Fiskerton, Lincolnshire, is a well-known example. The ribbed treatment of the fur is paralleled in other metalwork and sculpture of the period B on the Gandersheim Casket, which was possibly made in the Peterborough area, and the Rothbury cross-shaft, for instance. The creature's frontal gaze is also a regular feature of this material, and can be seen, for instance on the Ormside bowl, the Larling, Norfolk, bone plaque and on some of the metalwork from the ecclesiastical site at Brandon, Suffolk; it is also a feature of some depictions of the symbol of St Luke, as in the Lichfield Gospels, for instance. It is possible that this cat-like creature represents a lion, maybe indeed, the symbol of St Mark, and that the missing panels contained the symbols of the other three evangelists; but this is perhaps to speculate too far. The function of the mount must remain uncertain, but the quality of the decoration would suggest that it was a fitting from a high-status, possibly ecclesiastical, object.

Maximum height: 25mm., maximum width: 21.5mm; weight: 5.69g. X-ray fluorescence analysis at the British Museum indicated an approximate silver content of 94 per cent per cent.