Rights Holder: Kent County Council
CC License:
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Unique ID: KENT-028FFE
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Published
An incomplete cast gilded silver bow brooch dating to the early medieval period.
Description: The brooch has a short triangular head-plate with a circular flat knop at the apex. The bottom two corners are missing but may also have had flat knops similar to some small radiate-headed brooches. The foot is also triangular but more elongated than the head plate. It has a similar flat knop at its base and is missing part of its upper right corner.
The front of the brooch is heavily decorated. The surviving terminal knops having a nielloed triangle set in them. A ridge in relief runs from the top of the head-plate to the bottom of the foot. This ridge is left silver, decorated with a set of opposed nielloed triangles running from top to bottom. A silver border runs along the base of the head-plate also with a single line of nielloed triangles. In each of the halves of the head-plate created by the ridge are two paired Salin I style animal masks, likely birds with their beaks facing up and the eyes in by the corner of the two ridges meeting. The foot has two panels similarly produced by the raised ridge. The panels are filled with two raised triangular ridges at the outside corners and a set of S-scrolls.
The back is undecorated save for incised lines creating a ribbing affect at each end of the catch-plate. The catch-plate and pin loop is of standard arrangement. The pin is missing but copper-alloy corrosion survives in the pin loop.
Measurements:
Length: 39.22 mm
Width: 9.62 mm
Thickness: 8.46 mm
Weight: 2.66 g
Discussion:
Although a direct parallel to this brooch has yet to be found the decoration, including nielloed triangles, Style I and S scrolls, suggest a date in the late fifth to early sixth century. The knops at either end of the head-plate and foot-plate and long narrow foot is reminiscent of small Frankish radiate brooches and it does vaguely fit with an unusual small group of asymmetric Frankish fibulae although the top to bottom nielloed triangles is unusual.
This brooch could also be compared with the long equal-arm brooches, for example BUC-F80606, GLO-4E0EBD and HAMP-2BABC7. It it can be considered an equal armed brooch it would be the first long equal-arm brooch of silver to be recorded on the PAS database.
Notes:
It is thought that this brooch dates to before 1716 and thus as it is made of silver and over 300 years old, it constitutes potential Treasure under the stipulations of The Treasure Act 1996
Sold by TimeLine on 24/5/22 (Lot 0384) for export to USA.
This is a find of note and has been designated: County / local importance
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder after being disclaimed as Treasure
Treasure case tracking number: 2017T188
Broad period: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod from: Early
Period from: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: EARLY MEDIEVAL
Ascribed Culture:
Frankish style
Date from: Circa AD 485
Date to: Circa AD 550
Quantity: 1
Length: 39.22 mm
Width: 9.62 mm
Thickness: 8.46 mm
Weight: 2.66 g
Date(s) of discovery: Tuesday 31st January 2017
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Treasure case number: 2017T188
Primary material: Silver
Decoration style: Zoomorphic
Completeness: Incomplete
Surface Treatment: Gilded
Grid reference source: Generated from computer mapping software
Unmasked grid reference accurate to a 1 metre square.
No references cited so far.