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Anglo-Saxon bow brooch

€235
available
Object number
AR3342
Object: Anglo-Saxon bow brooch

Material: Bronze. Once also with iron parts.

Period: Circa 475 AD to 600 AD.
Towards the end of the Migration Period. Early Medieval.

Description:    The fibula is an Anglo-Saxon variety of the bow brooch type. The eponymous bow connects the rectangular head with the foot. The top side of the brooch is decorated by a punched geometric pattern. On the bottom side was once and iron pin that is now completely coroded. There is still the rest of the bronze hinge mount and the pin holder.

Background: The brooch was made during a time in which Europe was reshaped after the fall of the Roman Empire. It is unsurprising that this Migration Period is also recognizable in novel styles, for example of the jewellery. The design of fibulae clearly breaks with earlier Roman and Gallo-Roman traditions. The new Gothic types spread quickly throughout Western and Central Europe during the Migration Period. With the settlement of Northern Europe by the Anglo-Saxons, local variants developed there.

Dimensions: 34mm long. Circa 5g.

Condition: Pin and part of the catch plate are missing. Smaller damages and tiny defects on the rest of the body. Overall good condition.

Provenance: Acquired by us in 2022 on the British art market. Exported under British export license no. PAU/01051/22. Previously in private British ownership. The brooch was found on 3 May 2014 on the Isle of Wight, Great Britain. The find was recorded and published in the national database Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), entry number IOW-6A70C3.

References: Cf. J. Hines, A New Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Great Square-Headed Brooches, no. 100c.
Cf. R. Hattatt, Ancient Brooches and other Artefacts, p. 376, no. 1679.
Cf. R. Heynowski, Fibeln, p. 104, no. 3.24.9.

Literature: A superb and compact overview on the subject of ancient and later fibulae in general is given by R. Heynowski in his book "Fibeln - erkennen, bestimmen, beschreiben" (Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2012, German language).

Authenticity: We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.