Pin set

Pin set

Archaeology

AN00738869_001_l. Silver-gilt linked triple pin set. Each disc-headed pin is of composite construction, the shaft being cast separately and riveted to the disc via a highly schematised animal-head terminal on the hipped pin-shaft. The head of each pin is gilded and densely chip-carved. Each pin is attached to the next by means of an elongated lozenge-shaped link with pierced circular terminals through which a wire loop connects them to the adjacent pins. The links are chip-carved with spiral ornament, and pecked. The central and left-hand pins, though differing in detail, evidently belong to the same original scheme; both have been repaired at the junction with the pin-shaft. They share a cruciform design consisting of an equal-armed cross with expanded terminals and circular 'arm-pits', set at an angle to the pin-shaft. They have collared central settings originally set with glass, and the perimeter of the cross has a punched border. On the left-hand disc, one arm contains pure interlace, two others, symmetrically interlacing plant ornament springing from a 'flowerpot' base, while the fourth arm has a winged animal enmeshed in a skein of interlace. The three remaining arms have occasional punched details. The middle disc is the largest; its panels are filled with winged animals with lightly incised collars and other body markings enmeshed in interlace; confronted pairs in the two upper arms, an addorsed pair and a single animal of the same type as the confronted animals in the lower arms. All have punching on their bodies. The right-hand disc is evidently a replacement, being different in style and layout. Here also the cross-pattern with (empty) central setting is observed, but based instead on a cross with expanded terminals. A rope-pattern border encloses the entire disc and there are plain borders to the lentoid spaces between the arms, each of which contains a different creature ensnared in occasionally leafy interlace; two are in profile, two spread-eagled. All have inlaid glass eyes, are pecked, and tend to be a little ragged about the edges, in contrast to the sinuous lines of the ornament on the other pins. The backs of all the discs are plain, but that of the last is gilt. All these images are © Trustees of the British Museum. These free low-resolution images are covered also under the British Museum's Terms and Conditions (http://www.britishmuseum.org/about_this_site/terms_of_use/free_image_service.aspx). The full image collection is available at: http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/search_the_collection_database.aspx where you can also order high resolution copies.

British Museum

8th century