Rights Holder: The Portable Antiquities Scheme
CC License:
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Unique ID: PAS-266454
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
Triangular gold pendant with a facetted garnet inlay, the setting with a beaded border within simple margins. At the top, the scars and soldering points of a lost loop.
The singleton Bidford on Avon pendant belongs to a growing family of necklace components, all made in similar style, that came into fashion in the 7th century. It can be compared, for example, to cabochon garnet pendants on the necklace from Desborough, Northamptonshire (L Webster and J Backhouse, The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture, AD 600-900 (London, 1991), p. 28, cat. no.13).
This necklace dates from the second half of the 7th century and is made up of a centrally placed equal armed cross, flanked by gold `bullae' alternating with garnet droplets and separated by biconical gold beads. A stylistically similar pendant, but with a cornelian intaglio as a centrepiece, was found in the Canterbury hoard and is dated to the mid-7th century (Webster and Backhouse, op. cit., cat. no.5h). A third example, an irregular garnet cabochon, was found in grave 93, Bosshall, Ipswich, Suffolk. This was the grave of a high status woman who was buried at the beginning of the 8th century with a garnet inlaid composite brooch, four sheet gold disc pendants, two cabochon pendants and a coin pendant placed in a leather pouch at the neck (Webster and Backhouse, op. cit., cat. no. 33c). The Bidford pendant, which has a relatively high gold content, would date from earlier in the 7th century.
Current location of find: Warwickshire Museum
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Treasure case tracking number: 2001T003
Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Ascribed Culture:
Anglo-Saxon style
Date from: AD 600
Date to: AD 699
Quantity: 1
Length: 15 mm
Date(s) of discovery: Sunday 5th August 2001
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Other reference: BM treasure case: 2001/T3
Treasure case number: 2001T003
Primary material: Gold
Secondary material: Gem
Manufacture method: Hand made
Decoration method: Multiple
Completeness: Incomplete
Grid reference source: From a paper map
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 100 metre square.
Author | Publication Year | Title | Publication Place | Publisher | Pages | Reference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Webster, L. and Backhouse, J. | 1991 | The Making of England: Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900 | London | British Museum Press | 28 |