Silver Buckle

AN00725475_001_l. Silver buckle with a cast oval loop and shield-on-tongue covered by a sheet gold plate, edged with beaded wire, and divided into two crescentic panels flanking a central rectangle, all filled with collared granules. Above them is a band of interlaced beaded wires, and a smaller shield in relief inlaid with cloisonné garnet scales. The loop and cast triangular plates are attached by four interlocking hinge-plates, secured by a transverse pin with one collared boss surviving. The plate originally had three similar gilt bossed rivets, one now missing, linked by an applied gold strip edged with beaded wire. Above the rivets nearest the loop it is divided into two square panels, both containing a collared cabochon garnet, flanking a central rectangle with four granules. Below them is a Style II snake seen from above, its filigree wire body composed of interlaced knots. In the centre, its head below the shield, is a gold fish in high relief, its features outlined in beaded wire. The eyes are small cabochon settings, now empty. The plate is hollow underneath, the sheet silver back-plate is now separate. It has a border of stamped triangles, and a lightly incised backward-gazing animal biting its own body in a rectangular panel below the loop. 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.