Copper-alloy, 27.15 grams, 74.90 mm. Circa 6th-7th century AD. A cast copper-alloy die formed with an elaborate serpent motif executed as a series of recurring loops with solid outlines and pelletted fill. The serpent features a small eye-and-brow in the upper (narrower) corners, a loop in the lower left and a simple knot in the lower right. The design is surrounded by a pelletted border. The construction and design of the die is similar to the famous examples from Icklingham, Suffolk, but the present piece has a curved profile which suggests that it was for application to a curved surface, such as the shoulder of a drinking vessel, or possibly laid flat around the boss of a shield: pressed foil plates (Pressblechs) are found in these positions in the burial goods from Mound 1 at Sutton Hoo, with parallels elsewhere. Reference: cf. the Icklingham dies in West, S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 items 56.1,2. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: found East Anglia in 1972, ex Lord Mc Alpine collection.

Copper-alloy, 4.93 grams, 58.02 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A finely made pair of tweezers with broad gripping edges and D-section shanks. The tweezers are formed from a single metal casting with the separate suspension ring knotted through the upper of the slot. The upper end of each shank is decorated with a transverse-ribbed section above a flat panel with punched ring-and-dot designs - four to one face and five to the other. Close to the lower edge on each face is a group of four punched ring-and-dot motifs. Reference: MacGregor, A. & Bolick, E. A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-Ferrous Metals), Oxford, 1993 item 38.15 and cf. the find from Barham in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 fig.6 item 51. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: found East Angla, UK.

Copper-alloy, 4.87 grams, 31.20 mm. Circa 6th-10th century AD. A pair of copper-alloy tweezers with broad gripping surfaces and flat shanks. The suspension loop is a separate wire hoop with twisted ends passing through the centre of the tweezers. The shanks are decorated with parallel diagonal lines, the triangular heads with punched-point patterns within lightly incised borders. Reference: West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 fig.45 item 6. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: found East Anglia, UK.

Copper-alloy, 8.70 grams, 36.80 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A cast copper-alloy girdle hanger formed as a rectangular-section bar with T-shaped terminal, the outer ends of which feature bird-head finials which re-join the shaft. The terminal elements are decorated on the outer edges with a stamped motif of three dots within a triangle. The bird-head finials feature the heavy brow-band and elliptical eye found on many pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon high-status artefacts of the 6th and 7th centuries; the beaks curve to form a loop (one lost); bird-heads executed in this level of detail are very unusual on girdle-hangers. Reference: MacGregor, A. and Bolick, E. A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (non-Ferrous Metals), Oxford, 1993 shows many types, although even the most complex (ref.42.7) is not as well-made as the present piece. Fine condition, top of shaft lost in antiquity. Provenance: found Leicestershire, England.

Copper-alloy, 20.98 grams, 50.35 mm. Circa 9th-10th century AD. A cast openwork mount in the form of a central open rectangle with arcaded lateral borders, with a triangular openwork extension. Four spherical knops are located at the corners of the rectangle, with traces of a fifth at the apex of the triangle. The triangle is formed with an internal motif of three bilinear loops forming a knot executed in openwork. The mount is cast with similar decoration on both faces. Reference: cf. the three loop knot motif on the early 10th century house-shaped casket in Backhouse, J. Turner, D.H. & Webster, L. The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art 966-1066, London, 1984, item 15 and cf. spherical terminals on the Pershore censer cover item 74. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Norfolk, England.

Silver-gilt, 1.34 grams, 21.72 mm. 8th-9th century AD. A cast disc featuring a gilded central circular panel displaying a pair of opposed hunting dogs with their muzzles meeting at the outer edge, their bodies curving towards their spiral shoulders and their paws interlaced in the middle. On the edge is a pierced lobe for suspension; the lobe was damaged in antiquity and the disc was re-used - probably as a brooch, with traces of solder from the hinge and catchplate on the reverse. The creatures are executed in an evolved form of Insular Style seen in 7th-8th century manuscripts. Reference: Hammond, B. British Artefacts Volume 2 - Middle Saxon and Viking, Witham, 2010, item 1.14-j. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: from an old collection.

Silver-gilt, 6.73 grams, 26.80 mm. 7th-8th century AD. A cast mount terminal in the form of a beast's head with piriform ears, concave-sided muzzle with eyes pierced into flanking lobes. The nose is pierced to accept a fixing rivet. The bar to which the terminal was attached is D-shaped in section, the reverse is flat and undecorated. Reference: the piece is similar to the beast-head terminal on the strap end from Coddenham, Suffolk, in West, S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 p.230 item 5. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old Continental collection.

Copper-alloy, 23.18 grams, 105.98 mm. 5th-7th century AD. A convex-sided cast openwork bar decorated with series of small (1.5mm) ring-and-dot decorations on both surfaces. The central motif is an openwork cross, the voids formed as ring-and-dot motifs. At each end is a pair of circular voids (one fragmentary) with ring-and-dot borders. The bifacial decoration suggests that the object was intended to be viewed from both sides and the convex profile recalls the link-plates on linked-pin sets; an element from a chatelaine, a decorative chain worn at the belt from which tools and keys were suspended. Reference: cf. openwork buckle plates from Fairford (Gloucestershire) with circular openings and punched decoration (item 34.39) in MacGregor, A. & Bolick, E. A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-Ferrous Metals), Oxford, 1993, p.202. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Lincolnshire, England. Recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme.

Ceramic, 640 grams, 106 mm. 5th-7th century AD. A wheel-thrown biconical bowl or jar in a patchy light brown fabric with micaceous temper and some burnishing. The vessel lacks the decorative rouletting which is most commonly found on wheel-thrown bowls from Anglo-Saxon grave contexts, but it does feature horizontal scoring on the neck. A similar vessel with a narrower neck was recovered from St. Peter's, Kent and published by Evison. The high-status cemetery at Prittlewell had close links with the area of Canterbury and eastern Kent. Reference: Evison, V.I. Wheel-Thrown Pottery in Anglo-Saxon Graves, Royal Archaeological Institute, London, 1979 p.83 and 18(a). Good condition, some minor fractures; complete. Provenance: found Prittlewell, Essex, England.

Silver, 3.62 grams, 47.46 mm. Circa 10th century AD. A flat silver plate of elliptical shape bearing a design of intersecting lozenges and arcs, similar to those used on the 10th century floor tiles of Winchester cathedral. The plate has piercings to accept rivets on the ends and at the widest points; one was damaged in antiquity and was substituted by two smaller flanking holes. Reference: Backhouse, J. Turner, D.H. & Webster, L. The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art 966-1066, London, 1984, p.136. Very fine condition, some light creasing. Provenance: from an old European collection.

Copper-alloy, gilded, 1.99 grams, 31.80 mm. 8th-9th century AD. A cast lozengiform plate with a circular piercing at each end. The reserved design comprises four symmetrically placed scrolls with comma terminals. The plate probably formed a decorative linkage for a set of ornamental pins used to secure a high-status female's headrail. Reference: cf. linked three-pin set from River Witham, Lincolnshire in Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.227. Good very fine condition, one arm slightly bent, the majority of the gilding remaining. Provenance: found in East Anglia, England.

Copper-alloy, enamel and silver, 15.66 grams, 57.55 mm. 6th-7th century AD. A dished elliptical mount with a central enamelled panel rising to the cast hook at the top. The convex-sided medial panel features a simple interlace design based on two crossing lines reserved against the yellow enamel background. The surface of the mount to the left of the panel bears a similar interlace design in silver-wire inlay with fine pointwork texturing; to the right, this feature is no longer detectable but the silver-inlaid border is present in part. The cast hook is decorated with a medial incised panel. Bowl-mounts of this kind were produced in Ireland, Scotland (Dal Riada and Pictland) and possibly elsewhere in Britain; they often occur in high-status Anglo-Saxon burials (especially burial mounds) of the later 6th and 7th centuries on large bowls or cauldrons, where they probably represent diplomatic gifts or tribute. They continued to be produced in Ireland into the Viking period. Reference: cf. hanging bowl mounts from Akenham, Barham and Ipswich in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 fig.1.3, 6.59, 69.1. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an collection.

Copper-alloy, 10.46 grams, 39.98 mm. 5th-6th century AD. A cast rectangular belt mount or plate decorated with a three-band border enclosing a central lo zenge with three-band detailing flanked by panels with incised tremello-style texturing. The three-band features are reminiscent of Style I decoration found on Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian metalwotk of the 5th-6th century. Reference: cf. the rectangular plate from Eriswell in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 p.144. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Gilt copper-alloy, 1.25 grams, 32.02 mm. 7th-9th century AD. A rare example of the linking plate which connected a set of two or three linked pins. The piece comprises a lozengiform flat plate with cast ornamentation in the form of Insular Style geometric knotwork within a beaded border; the knotwork is rhythmically laid out but not symmetrical. The ends develop into circular-section wire which is formed into a hoop (one lost in antiquity). Reference: cf. the set of pins from the River Witham at Fiskerton with lozengiform connecting plates in Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.227. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Enamel over copper-alloy core, 11.55 grams, 18.64 mm diameter. 6th-7th century AD. A fitting in the form of a barrel-shaped tag, the outer surface covered with coral-red enamel. The top of the piece is decorated with a copper-alloy disc with a pelleted border, its surface divided into quadrants of red and yellow enamel. On the reverse, a copper-alloy loop reveals how the item was attached. Beads of similar design were worn attached to the scabbards of 5th-6th century swords in Germanic Europe, where they had an amuletic significance. Reference: cf. Menghin, W. Das Schwert im Frühen Mittelalter, Stuttgart, 1983, p.142ff. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection, found Huddersfield, Yorkshire.

Silver, 3.95 grams, 58.43 mm. 5th-9th century AD. A twisted or 'writhen' bracelet formed from square-section silver rod, twisted along its own length and formed into a penannular shape, the ends narrowing to a fine point and formed into a double-loop. Reference: MacGregor, A. & Bolick, E. A Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections (Non-Ferrous Metals), BAR British Series 230, 1993, p.168 item 26.20, 26.21. Good very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Copper-alloy and gilt, 8.44 grams, 26.24 mm. 10th-11th century AD. An openwork cast D-shaped mount with thick (about 4mm) border in late Anglo-Saxon taste. The central design is a bird with large, three-toed feet and its neck bowed round so that the bird's beak meets the base and the wings are folded along its flanks. The plate is formed with two piercings to accept attachment rivets, both still in situ. The upper edge is a simple hinge with the three elements still present. The rivets' shanks are about 3.5mm long and the cleats are still in place. The small distance between the plate and the cleats and the small size of the plate in relation to the hinge suggest that the mount was probably attached to a leather purse or pouch. Reference: cf. the 11th century openwork mount from St. Albans and the openwork strap ends from Winchester in Webster, L & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600- 900, London, 1991, p.96 and 111. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Copper-alloy, 32.19 grams, 49.44 mm. 5th-8th century AD. A metalworking stake used to shape metal plates. The lower end is split and slightly splayed. The head is domed with three regular triangular insets; below the head the square-section shaft is clubbed due to constant use and the dome itself is slightly flattened. On one face there are impressions from metalworking punches, one of which is in the tall 'S' shape sometimes found on cruciform and square-headed brooches. Reference: metalworking techniques are discussed in Leahy, K. Anglo-Saxon Crafts, Stroud, 2003. Good very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection formed before 1950.

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.

Silver, 9.23 grams, 26.36 mm. 8th-9th century AD. A thick (about 5mm) rectangular belt-mount bearing cast decoration in the form of a central lozenge with radiating segmented saltire; within each quadrant is a lozenge with incuse cross decoration. The raised border consists of lozengiform panels with incuse crosses. The mount has a piercing for a mounting pin at one end, in which the pin is still in situ. There is an additional larger piercing through the central lozenge added later. The decoration is similar in layout to contemporary Anglo-Saxon items such as those in the Pentney hoard. Reference: Webster, L & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.230 fig.187. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection, not found in the UK.

Silver, 3.97 grams, 36.98 mm. 8th-9th century AD. A triangular strap tag with decorated surface. The main decorative field comprises a Trewhiddle Style beast with a contorted s-shaped body within a billeted border which extends around the plain upper field within which there are three circular perforations to accept attachment rivets. The apex of the triangle is bifurcated to form two hooks, the ends of which were lost in antiquity. Tags of this kind were attached to the ends of winingas or coiled lower-leg coverings where the hooks were used to secure the tight wrapping of the fabric; tags with two hooks are unusual. Reference: cf. West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 p.137 no.27. Published: Hammond, Brett. British Artefacts, volume 2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Essex before 1997, and Disclaimed 2008.