The Sutton Hoo Great Gold Buckle
This gold belt buckle is a masterpiece of early medieval craftsmanship, made using over 400g of gold with an intricate decoration of intertwining creatures inlaid with niello (a black metal alloy). This type of animal ornament was popular with many Germanic-speaking peoples at the time. Sutton Hoo Treasure, 7th century AD
The British Museum, London.
Its form with curved sides and 3 domed bosses resembles Frankish buckles. The plate is a hollow box that opens at the back and locks using 3 movable sliders. Buckles with similar mechanisms are known from the Frankish realm and other parts of the Continent. They probably contained Christian relics, and perhaps the Sutton Hoo buckle held something precious too. Made using over 400 grams of gold, its intricate decoration shows 13 intertwining creatures inlaid with niello (a black metal alloy). The Sutton Hoo buckle is a superlative example of this type of animal ornament, which was popular with many Germanic people at that time.
About the Author
Associate Professor of Neurology and lover of the Cradle of Civilization, Mesopotamia. I’m very interested in Mesopotamian history and always try to take photos of archaeological sites and artifacts in museums, both in Iraq and around the world.
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Uploaded by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin, published on 12 May 2016. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Copyright. You cannot use, copy, distribute, or modify this item without explicit permission from the author. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.
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