Finds Tray –  Early medieval zoomorphic mount

This recent addition to the Portable Antiquities Scheme’s database, originally found by metal-detectorists in Winchester in the mid-1990s and since donated to the Hampshire Cultural Trust, is a particularly eye-catching example of an early medieval zoomorphic mount. It dates to c.AD 900-1000.

Cast in copper alloy, and gilded to produce its bright gold sheen, the mount is cruciform in shape, with a striking blue-glass cabochon set into the centre. This element was originally found loosely attached by soil, and has since been re-set during conservation work by the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. The mount’s exact function is unknown, but two loops or knops flanking its body and a third perforation may have been used to secure it to an object such as a staff or bishop’s crozier using rivets.

Although the mount measures just 29.81mm in length, its metal is intricately detailed, with its terminal featuring a head with a long snout, flared nostrils, and lappets or horns, perhaps representing a dragon, serpent, or wolf, whose tail can be seen at the opposing end. The central cabochon is also surrounded by Jelling-style knotwork, a decorative style popular in Scandinavian zoomorphic art from this period.