Anglo-Saxon silver mount, Burton Lazars

Anglo-Saxon silver mount, Burton Lazars
Anglo-Saxon silver mount, Burton Lazars
Anglo-Saxon silver mount, Burton Lazars
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iBase ID
18042
Title
Anglo-Saxon silver mount, Burton Lazars
Description
A silver mount with mercury gilding of the later Anglo-Saxon period. Found between Burton Lazars and Melton Mowbray with a metal detector.

This silver-gilt mount from Burton Lazars, Melton, is possibly from a book. It has openwork interlace decoration and animal heads with beady eyes which can be seen when viewed from above.
LCC ID. No.
X.A16.2004
Image Use
Personal use only unless otherwise agreed
Notes
Mercury gilded silver mount. Rectangular, cast to a C-shaped section. Four small attachment holes at the corners. The rectangular shape is framed by a triple border of two plain mouldings enclosing a beaded one. The overall design is cruciform, with four long-beaked, snake-like creatures, seen from above, with prominent bulging eyes, converging on acentral pyramidal boss formed by the (saltire) intersection of four plain strands. This creates the impression of two superimposed crosses, one made by the snouts of the creatures, the other with its arms at 45 degrees to the beaks, offering support for the thread-like plain bodies of the snakes to interlace with. The interlace is neat but not symmetrical, as can be seen in one of the quarters where one of the arms of the saltire cross is in two parts, thus creating a larger loop in the interlace.

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For further information about the artefacts depicted please contact: museums@leics.gov.uk
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