HOOKED TAG

Description: A complete silver hooked tag of early-medieval date. It has a circular plate and two protruding rounded lobes, each with a circular perforation. The plate extends into a rectangle at the base above a thicker integral hook which tapers and curves back to the reverse of the object and ends in a complete sharp point. The rectangle at the base, the hook and the reverse are all undecorated.

The front of the plate is decorated with an engraved and niello-inlaid design. A cross shape is reserved in silver against the nielloed background, each arm with rounded angles and expanded arms with curved ends. The corners of the arms end in rounded terminals, making each arm pelta-shaped. The rounded terminals each have a dot, in four cases retaining the inlaid niello; the other four dots are filled with soil. Each arm is outlined with a thick niello-inlaid border; these lines end at the centre in V-shaped terminals which do not meet. In the curved angles of the cross arms are flat-topped reserved silver pellets. There is a reserved silver border around the entire plate. The surface is flat, and fine oblique scratches suggest polishing.

Dimensions: The tag is 21.8mm long and weighs 1.80g. The plate has a diameter of 14.2mm and is 1.1mm thick.

Discussion and Date: This object fits well into a series of broadly 9th-century circular hooked tags with projecting lobes and nielloed decoration. A cross motif is uncommon on these, however; this type of cross is best paralleled on a series of brooches typified by the find from Elmsett, Suffolk (West 1998, fig. 24.6); compare LIN-01DE95, BH-685AA3, NMS-972E58 (a) and (c), BM-138695 and LIN-9B7487, and BH-7F2D44. Again, these are broadly 9th-century in date.

The best parallel among the hooked tags on the PAS database is SUSS-69F7E8 (now in Winchester Museum); other similar examples have octofoil flowers (e.g. PAS-E87CB3 and KENT-C6B9B6), or panels of interlace or animal ornament between the cross arms (e.g. LON-585A83 and HAMP-0B4001), or have crosses set diagonally (e.g. LON-CDE581 and SOM-CD8D98).