Square-Headed Bow Brooch

Unknown

500–600 · Gilded copper alloy inlaid with niello · Medieval Art

This brooch displays the Anglo-Saxon preference for lavish decoration, with a particular emphasis on fantastic animal forms. Dividing the foot is a strip of niello (a black substance containing silver, copper, lead, and sulphur) terminating in an animal’s head, and above the foot is a pair of stylized animal heads with gaping jaws.

Artist

Unknown

Date

500–600

Medium

Gilded copper alloy inlaid with niello

Culture

Anglo-Saxon

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Purchase, Rogers Fund, and Alastair B. Martin, Levy Hermanos Foundation Inc. and J. William Middendorf II Gifts, 1985