Copper-alloy, 5.38 grams, 17.97 mm. 5th-8th century AD. A decorative mount made in the form of a ring, with billeted borders and four ring-and-dot motifs placed in the central field. Mounts of this kind were used to adorn sword hilts and spear shafts, where they added a flash of bright colour against the background of the wooden, horn or antler components. Reference: cf. the annular mounts on spearheads from Merrow (Surrey) and Nassington (Northamptonshire) in Swanton, M.J. The Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements, Royal Archaeological Institute, London, 1973, p.134 fig.53 and the sword from the River Witham (Lincolnshire) in Ellis Davidson, H.R. The Sword in Anglo-Saxon England Woodbridge, 1962, pl.X fig.66. Very fine condition, deformed profile. Provenance: from an old English collection formed before 1950.