Sword scabbard boss

Anglo-Saxon

Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery

7th Century

This sword scabbard mount is very rare and only two others were known to exist from the the aristocratic burial in Sutton Hoo until more were found in the Staffordshire Hoard in July 2009. Swords were one of the most highly-prized objects to have been made in Anglo-Saxon England and their embellishment with jewelled decorative hilts and scabbards was a principal way in which members of the aristocracy and the upper classes could express their wealth, power and prestige. This scabbard boss will be used to explain the rise of Norfolk's earliest Anglo-Saxon elites and their access to, and use of, jewellery similar to that used by the owner of the Sutton Hoo treasure.

• Medium: gold & garnet
• Dimensions: 7 x 17mm
• Art Fund Grant: £3000 ( Total: £8,000)
• ArtFunded in: 2010
• Vendor: Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Provenance

Discovered by a metal detectorist in Griston and declared Treasure in 2008.

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