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The Sutton Hoo Great Gold Buckle
The Great Gold Buckle from the Sutton Hoo Ship-burial Mound 1, England, UK. Early Anglo-Saxon, early 7th century.
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.
