Gilt copper-alloy with garnets, 7.35 grams, 39.48 mm. 6th-7th century AD. A flat cast mount or fitting in the form of a pair of bird-heads, addorsed, springing from a central bar. The left head is formed with a recurved beak developing into a flat cheek beneath a quarter-round eye socket. Behind and above the socket is a raised right-angled bracket. The eye is formed as a cloison setting for a garnet disc. The right head is present only as far as the cheek. Beneath the left head's cheek is a band of three-band decoration; to its left is a right-angled banded feature, a pair of slightly curved vertical bars and a D-shaped block with internal bar. The use of paired sets of bird-head motifs is quite common on Style II metalwork of the 6th-7th century, with many examples from the Sutton Hoo ship burial (Mound 1) and contemporary metalwork. Directly joined bird-heads are not common, although the feature does occur on a small-long brooch from Bloxhall (Suffolk) and the footplate of a cruciform brooch from Felixstowe, although in neither case does garnet cloisonné appear. On the reverse there is evidence for an attachment peg. The fitting may have formed part of a bridle pendant, such as those found in the horse-and-rider burial in Mound 17 at Sutton Hoo. Reference: West, S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon material from Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 items 10.7, 45.2 and Carver, M. Sutton Hoo. A Seventh Century Princely Burial Ground and its Context, London, 2005 items 29a, b. Fine condition. Provenance: found Suffolk, England.

Copper-alloy and enamel, 7.04 grams, 41.42 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A cast copper-alloy mount in the form of a long-necked bird, perhaps a cormorant, with elliptical body and short tail. The mount is formed with a hollow underside and curved neck; the hollow is filled with cuprous corrosion products where it was attached to the rim of a hanging bowl. The creature's back is formed as an elliptical panel with yellow enamel infill surrounded by a thin enamelled outer border which extends to the tail. The neck is D-section and arched to form a hook, with the eyes and beak indicated on the upper face. The mount was used as one of a series of hooks by which the bowl was suspended. Hanging bowls formed part of the currency of prestige in 6th-7th century Britain; most of them appear to have been produced in British workshops and feature enamelling, a technique not often used by the Anglo-Saxons; they are mainly found in high-status Anglo-Saxon graves. It is likely that they formed part of the tribute and dowry exchanges. Reference: cf. triangular mounts on a bowl from Ipswich in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 fig.69 and discussion in Bruce-Mitford, R. and Raven, S. The Corpus of Late Celtic Hanging-Bowls with an Account of the Bowls Found in Scandinavia, Oxford 2005. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Wiltshire, UK.

Gilt copper-alloy, 3.34 grams, 19.56 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A cast gilt copper-alloy belt mount formed as a rectangular plate with raised edges enclosing a chip-carved panel depicting a stylised Tiermensch or beast-man motif executed in Salin's Style I formed as a profile face and body with disjointed limbs. Much of the original heavy gilding remains. To the reverse are the bases of two mounting lugs. Reference: cf. similar items in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 - a pair of mounts from Icklingham (pl.52 item11.1,11.2 ) and a stud from Coddenham (pl.23 item 10). Very fine condition. Provenance: found East Anglia, ex Nigel Mills.

Gilt copper-alloy, 6.03 grams, 51.92 mm. Circa 8th century AD. A cast rectangular mount formed as a flat plate decorated with an incised tight knotwork design of the Insular Style seen on manuscripts such as the Lindisfarne Gospels and metalwork such as the Coppergate helmet. The knotwork is surrounded by an eccentric border with a D-shaped indent in the top edge respecting a small hole for a mounting rivet. The heavy gilding is substantially complete and has protected the delicate pattern. The plate was probably original mounted on a piece of ecclesiastical furniture or a standing cross, such as the Rupertus Cross in Pongau, Austria, of Anglo-Saxon workmanship. Subsequently the plate was removed and attached to another item by two large square-section nails; this may be connected with the Viking practice of looting churches and stripping the decorative elements from the holy objects. Reference: cf. details of the Rupertus cross published in Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture, AD 600-900, London, 1991, item 133. Very fine condition, gilding almost complete. Provenance: found East Anglia, England.

Gilt copper-alloy and bone, 7.33 grams, 24.95 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A cast copper-alloy circular mount with heavily gilded surface. The central element is a pierced bone hemisphere in a deep collet with slashed decoration. Surrounding this is a deep border enclosing a zoomorphic motif within an outer double border. The zoomorphic design comprises a procession of eleven Style I animal-legs radiating from the central boss. On the reverse, three mounting lugs are encased within ferrous blocks. The heavy gilding is intact, preserving the fine details of the design. Reference: similar circular mount from Ipswich in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 (pl.96 item 2) and another from Sutton (pl.128 item 12). Extremely fine condition, gilding intact. Provenance: found Little Chesterford, Essex, England.

Gilt copper-alloy, 8.26 grams, 23.69 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A large cast copper-alloy square mount with heavily gilded central field depicting a Style I beastman motif within a beaded border, surrounding a central square. At each corner is placed a round hole for the attachment rivets. The mount is probably from a high-status sword-belt. Reference: cf. similar items in West. S. A Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Finds From Suffolk, East Anglian Archaeology 84, Ipswich, 1998 pair of mounts from Icklingham (pl.52 item11.1,11.2 ) and stud from Coddenham (pl.23 item 10). Very fine condition, gilding substantially intact. Provenance: found Fulbourn, Cambridgeshire, England.

Gilt copper-alloy, 2.93 grams, 25.87 mm. Circa 6th-7th century AD. A cast copper-alloy rectangular mount with heavy gilding to the central design. The face comprises a raised border enclosing a procession of Style II animal shapes forming a chain. On the reverse are placed two attachment pins. Decorative mounts of this form were often used to enliven sword-belts and scabbards, as for example on the sword from Grave 92 at Erding, Germany. Reference: Menghin, W. Das Schwert im Fruehen Mittelalter, Stuttgart, 1983 item 77 and map 11. Good fine condition, complete, gilding mostly intact. Provenance: found at Thetford, Norfolk, England in 1997.

Copper-alloy, 4.88 grams, 38.05 mm. Circa 5th-6th century AD. A cast copper-alloy gusset plate from a wrist-clasp set, formed as a triangle with slightly concave sides terminating in a stylised beast's head with roundel eyes and a square muzzle. On each side is a pierced lug, by which the plate was sewn to the garment. The median panel is filled with a beaded border surrounding a triangular panel with punched-point decoration. Reference: Hines, J. Clasps-Hektespenner-Agraffen: Anglo-Scandinavian Clasps of the Third to Sixth Centuries AD. Typology, Diffusion and Function. Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, 1993. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Norfolk, England.

Gilt copper-alloy, 19.52 grams, 28.08 mm. Circa 8th-9th century AD. A cast discoid mount formed as a raised rim, flat field and central collet. The rim is beaded and the field bears a tight knotwork design typical of the later 8th century, as seen for example on the Gandersheim Casket. The central collet formed the cell for a stone, probably a garnet (lost in antiquity), mounted cabochon in the middle of the knotwork for a rich effect. Although the piece is of the right dimensions for a shield-boss plate, it lacks the rear spike. The gilding is very heavy and largely intact. Reference: cf. gilt copper-alloy items with knotwork in Hammond, B. British Artefacts vol.2 - Middle Saxon and Viking, Witham, 2010 items 1.6-d, 1.6-w and ungilded item 1.6-c. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Warwick, Warwickshire, England in 1987.

Copper-alloy, 5.74 grams, 20.28 mm. Circa 9th-10th century AD. A cast copper-alloy square mount with raised border. The design comprises two quadrupeds, the upper crouching to the right with its head looking backwards and the lower advancing to the left. Two small attachment holes are placed within the upper and lower rim. The beasts are probably intended for hunting dogs. The triangular bodies and square-ended muzzles are reminiscent of Trewhiddle Style animals such as those on the bone trial piece from York. Reference: Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture, AD 600-900, London 1991, item 255 and cf. advancing dogs on item 43. Very fine condition, complete. Provenance: found Norfolk, England.

Gilt copper-alloy, 1.82 grams, 28.75 mm. Circa 9th-10th century AD. A thin cast lozengiform mount depicting a coiled sprig with three hatched lanceolate leaves emerging, within a hatched border. The design is similar in execution to the plant motif on the reverse of the Alfred Jewel, although the tightly curved format reflects contemporary Carolingian taste. Reference: Backhouse, J., Turner, D.H. and Webster, L. The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art 966-1066, London, 1984, item 13. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection, found Stowmarket, Suffolk, England in 1978.

Copper-alloy gilt, 8.81 grams, 31.21 mm diameter. Circa 8th century AD. A discoid mount with domed central section, pierced to accept an attachment rivet. The flange is decorated with two panels of gilded chip-carved knotwork in the Insular Style, with a third panel of three-band zoomorphic ribbon-beast at the top. The central hole is surrounded by a plain double-border which extends between the chip-carved panels to the outer edge. Reference: documented with the Portable Antiquities Scheme under reference SOMDOR-216202. Fine condition. Provenance: found Charminster, Dorset, England.

Copper-alloy, 33.13 grams, 67.40 mm. 6th-7th century AD. A slightly convex elliptical mount with an integral, cast hook at the top. The surface of the plate is plain with three holes to accept attachment pins, of which one is still present. The cast hook is decorated to resemble a horse-head with notched mane and modelled features including two triangular panels flanking the head. 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 hanging bowls and 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. Fine condition. Provenance: found Cambridgeshire, England

Copper-alloy, 9.62 grams, 28.55 mm. Circa 6th century AD. A bow brooch finial in the form of a stylized beast's head with D-section bow, triangular eyes, ribbed muzzle and lobed nostrils and a raised median panel. The flat flange at the top is pierced for attachment to the lower end of a cruciform brooch. Reference: Hattatt, R. Iron Age and Roman Brooches, Oxford, 1985 items 672-7. Very fine condition. Provenance: found Harston, Cambridgeshire, England.

Copper-alloy and gilt, 5.55 / 4.70 / 4.13 / 1.36 grams, 28.60 / 29.76 / 28.35 / 16.25 mm dia. Circa 5th-6th century AD. A set of four convex mounts: (i) a steep-sided boss with geometric decoration within a double border of gilded ropework, with two round holes close to the outer border; (ii) a low dome within a gilded pelleted border (part lost in antiquity) with two holes; (iii) a low dome within a gilded, pelleted border, with a central triskele motif and two holes close to the edge; (iv) a low dome with two holes and a central roundel. The form and placement of the holes suggest that the mounts were meant to be attached using either separate rivets or possibly sewn. Superficially, the mounts resemble the domed, collared bosses found on Merovingian period triangular belt buckles and the contemporary ‘umbo’ brooches; the rhythmic designs are also reminiscent of the decoration of Frankish disc brooches. Reference: Nice, A. Revue Archéologique de Picardie. La Nécropole Mérovingienne de Goudelancourt-lès Pierrepont (Aisne), No.Spécial 25, 2008. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Copper-alloy and enamel, 44.58 grams, 41.51 mm. 8th-9th century AD. A rectangular mount of slightly convex section with a square central raised panel. The raised panel bears a design of raised rectangles with enamelled infill. The surround is separated into zones a saltire with raised pellet detail; the individual zones are decorated with interlocking triangles (upper and lower) and knotwork (left and right). A broad border contains the whole design. On the reverse are two pierced pegs for attachment. The enamel is in the characteristic coral-red and amber-yellow of early medieval Irish tradition. Reference: Youngs, S. (ed.) The Work of Angels: Masterpieces of Celtic Metalwork, 6th-9th Centuries AD, London, 1989, p.61 item 52. Very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection.

Copper-alloy, 2.43 grams, 22.76 mm. 7th-8th century AD. A cast triangular mount with ropework entwined snakes central motif, with open mouths, within a knotwork border. There are no indications of attachment points, suggesting that it was part of a larger object; triangular elements of this form (but larger) are found on some 7th century Anglo-Saxon drinking horns. Reference: cf. the knotwork design on the head of the stylus from Strickland in Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.142. Extremely fine condition. Provenance: found Yorkshire, England.

Copper-alloy, gilt, 9.56 grams, 36.00 mm. 6th-7th century AD. An unusual looped bowl mount with some of its heavy gilding still in place. The sub-rectangular plate is cast with an embossed elliptical panel below the junction of the loop, decorated with incised eye and mouth detail. The edges bear incised linear features which extend from the sides of the face onto the plate itself where they are confined within an incised border. The features are reminiscent of the 'ancestral' faces on the whetstone from Sutton Hoo Mound 1 where an array of grim masks are portrayed with various permutations of full beards, 'mutton chops' and long hair radiating from the faces. Reference: Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.33. Very fine condition, facial detail worn and difficult to photograph. Provenance: ex old English collection, found Norfolk pre 2000.

Copper-alloy & silver, 55.38 grams, 72.38 mm. Circa 11th century AD. Comprising a thick silver facing on a copper-alloy backing. The layout of the disc’s surface decoration is similar to the double-contoured rounded lozenges found on the Anglo-Scandinavian Sutton (Isle of Eley) brooch. The motifs consist of fleshy acanthus-leaf ornaments which spring from a truncated stump in involuted scrolls similar to those seen on the Winchester Psalter and other mid-11th century Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. The mount has some yellow/ochre enamelling and eight small perforations equally spaced around the rim to facilitate fixing. Reference: Backhouse, J., Turner, D.H., and Webster, L. The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art 966-1066, London, 1984, p.110. Fine and extremely rare. The surfaces showing wear and abrasion with some restoration to the edges but much detail still visible. Provenance: found North East England.

Copper-alloy, 3.67 grams, 22.01 mm. 6th-7th century AD. Pelta-shaped mounts were used in the later 6th century in conjunction with circular plates as strap-stiffeners, for example on the horse-harness found in Mound 17 at Sutton Hoo, Suffolk. The present example features a double-border containing a complex triple-band interlace motif. On the reverse are two suspension lugs pierced at the outer ends for sewing to the leather strap; this is unusual as most pelta-mounts are attached with rivets passed through annular cleats. Reference: Carver, M. Sutton Hoo. A Seventh Century Princely Burial Ground and its Context, London, 2005, p.228-9 and cf.pp.234-5. Very fine condition.

Copper-alloy, 12.05 grams, 62.88 mm. 7th-8th century AD. A finely detailed cast mount, decorated in Insular Style. A quadrangular chip-carved medial panel features a developed fret motif of interesecting lozenges. From the lower corners of this panel depend two discoid lobes with dished surfaces. Two lateral arms develop from the sides of the panel. The left arm has athick cast rim and contains a panel of geometric knotwork; the right panel is similar but the upper end was damaged in antiquity. Traces of gilding remain in some areas. On the reverse, the attachment points are two cast lugs with horizontal piercings; remains of a third, more substantial lug are present at the bottom behind the rectangular panel. The decoration and overall style of the piece are reminiscent of the 'Strickland mount' from the abbey at Whitby, Yorkshire, dating to the 8th century. Reference: for the Strickland mount, see Webster, L. & Backhouse, J. The Making of England. Anglo-Saxon Art and Culture AD 600-900, London, 1991, p.142 item 107(a). Published: Hammond, Brett. British Artefacts, volume 2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010. Very fine condition. Ex an old American collection.

Copper-alloy, 1.18 grams, 21.94 mm. Circa 7th-8th century AD. The mount comprises a rectangular base with two lateral additions in the form of tall gilded spiral cells. The upper and lower terminals are cabochon settings, one with the blue glass insert still in place. The central panel is a gold rectangle with fine gold filigree decoration in the Insular Style. The interlace is reminiscent of the decoration on the outer rim of the largest brooch in the 8th century Pentney hoard, though lacking the zoomorphic element. Reference: Backhouse, J. Turner, D.H. & Webster, L. The Golden Age of Anglo-Saxon Art 966-1066, London, 1984, p.229-31 item187(e) and cf. Cramp. R. Grammar of Anglo-Saxon Ornament Oxford, 1984, p.xxxii. Published: Hammond, Brett. British Artefacts, volume 2 - Middle Saxon & Viking, Witham, 2010. Good very fine condition.