English: Copper alloy with Gilding Mount fragment. Cast flat backed plate in the form of the head of a bird with curving bill, probably one of a symetrically addorsed pair, as adduced by ragged broken edges behind the body. An eye is defined naturalistically in relief, as is a nostril at the top of the beak, but the neck and upper body afford fields for curvilinear interlaced ornament, each strand of which comprises paired ridges highlighted by deeply incised (or appearing thus) gutters between them. Dr Kevin Leahy kindly identifies this piece as of Salin Style 2, and as such an indication of an aristocratic context for this piece. The relief work retains extensive gilding. A tiny lug on the back, of length c.4mm which stands proud of this flat surface by c.1mm, may either be a casting flaw or a feature which assisted fixing. The motif of a raptor could be used in martial contexts and might appear on objects such as shields. However, the small scale of this example might be more appropriate to the decoration of a book cover, as for example the Gospel of John who is traditionally represented by an eagle. The eagle motif also appears on a 7th-century brooch from the Anglo-Saxon cemetery at Castledyke, South, Barton upon Humber, North Lincolnshire (Drinkall and Foreman 1998). Suggested date: Early Medieval, 650-700.

Height: 20.5mm, Width: 19.7mm, Thickness: 2.8mm, Weight: 3.34gms.