“It’s believed made it a bit more of an effort to get the sword out of the scabbard, possibly acting as a check on an angry reaction,” Geake says to BBC News. Gold and garnet sword mounts found at Sutton Hoo Historians are unsure of their exact purpose, but Art Fund notes that they were “associated with Anglo-Saxon sword scabbards and used to help keep” swords in their sheaths. Pyramid mounts are relatively common medieval English artifacts. “They or their lord had access to gold and garnets and to high craftsmanship.” “ would have been owned by somebody in the entourage of a great lord or Anglo-Saxon king, and he would have been a lord or thegn who might have found his way into the history books,” she tells BBC News. These gemstones’ presence speaks to the existence of far-reaching trade networks between Europe and Asia in the sixth and seventh centuries, Geake says. The pyramid’s four faces feature two distinct designs, both of which boast inlaid garnets probably imported from India or Sri Lanka. Shaped like a pyramid with a truncated peak, the artifact’s square base measures less than half an inch on each side, per its PAS object record.
#MEDIEVAL SWORD SCABBARD PORTABLE#
Helen Geake, a finds liaison officer with the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), which records archaeological finds made by the British public, tells BBC News that its loss “was like losing one earring-very annoying.” Sword pyramids usually come in pairs, but this one was found alone, meaning its owner may have misplaced it while “careening around the countryside.” Found in the Breckland district of Norfolk, England, the object “bears a striking resemblance” to artifacts found in the nearby Sutton Hoo burial, reports Treasure Hunting magazine.Īccording to BBC News, the tiny adornment dates to between roughly 560 and 630 C.E., when the area was part of the Kingdom of East Anglia. 66, ill.In April, amateur metal detectorist Jamie Harcourt unearthed a gold and garnet sword pyramid-a decorative fitting likely used to help keep weapons sheathed-that may have belonged to a wealthy lord or early medieval king. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015. Islamic Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. "Gold." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Winter, 1972–73), p. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1967. In the Presence of Kings: Royal Treasures from the Collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The New Galleries of Oriental Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (May 1958), pp. "Oriental Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (February 1947), p.
"An Inscribed Turkish Sabre." Rūpam̲ (January 1926), p. "Notes: Gem-Encrusted Arms." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (1923), pp.
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