EARLY MEDIEVAL UNIDENTIFIED OBJECT

580

A fragment of gold filigree from an unidentified object. It has a flat gold sheet backplate, torn along every edge, with a design of one or two incomplete intertwining Style II animals. The bodies of the animal(s) are made from made from 'carpets' of parallel twisted unbeaded wires, set in groups of 6, 7 or 8, generally in pairs to make three or four imitation plaits. There are also some larger-diameter beaded wires, perhaps representing interlacing limbs, and two raised undecorated pear-shaped elements which must represent hips or shoulders. Because the object is incomplete, it is hard to identify the individual components of the beast(s).The object appears to have been made with a second backplate over the top of the first. The lower backplate is flat and made of slightly redder metal; the second has raised decoration, including the pear-shaped hips, and has holes cut out in the lower parts to reveal the lower flat backplate. The filigree is soldered to the upper backplate. This method of manufacture is known as the 'hollow platform' technique.Dimensions: Length: 15mm, Width: 16mm, Thickness: 1mmNiamh Whitfield has seen an image of this object, and her advice has informed the following discussion.The very broad band of herring-bone carpeting is a standard device in late 6th- to 7th-century Anglo-Saxon filigree in a more abstract context, but its use to delineate the body of an animal is unusual. It is comparable to StH1148 from the Staffordshire Hoard, and both of these are similar (though not identical) to a filigree animal on the Irish 'Tara' brooch, which was much influenced by Anglo-Saxon traditions. The similar use of the 'carpet' technique in an Anglo-Saxon context is interesting.The 'hollow platform' technique is well-known from sixth-century Scandinavian sword fittings, and also occur on the best quality Celtic filigree, such as on the Hunterston brooch, the Ardagh chalice and the Derrynaflan paten. It is rare in Anglo-Saxon England, however, occurring only on the miniature buckles from Faversham, the Market Rasen sword-hilt, and several pieces in the Staffordshire Hoard.This complex and high-quality fragment is therefore an important and interesting addition to the corpus of late 6th- and 7th-century Anglo-Saxon gold filigree, despite the difficulty in decoding the function of the object and the exact motifs used.