A Gallery of Bling through the Ages (Image Gallery) p. 10

Image Gallery

by Mark Cartwright
published on 28 December 2021

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Urnes Style Disc Brooch

by The Trustees of the British Museum
published on 20 December 2021

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Urnes Style Disc Brooch — View Full-Size Image

Dished gilt copper-alloy disc brooch, Urnes style, from Pitney, Somerset, c. 11th century.

The British Museum, London.

Within a scalloped border, the convex surface of the circular brooch bears an openwork design of a coiled, ribbon animal in combat with a snake. The head has a pronounced lentoid eye, and an S-shaped lappet on the upper jaw. The creature bites its own body, which is composed of a plain and a beaded band. It has spiral hips; the sharply angled foreleg terminates in a three-toed foot and the hind leg divides into two tendrils. A snake's head with two prominent eyes, seen from above, bites the animal's neck.

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